From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG0108B" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 12:41:00 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Wendy Richards Subject: Re: NEW: My Friend 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Laurie asked, in response to my question: > << Did you see Tank's response on the new boards? >> > > Wendy, could you share here? I've been away (still am, actually--won't get > home till tomorrow night) and cannot even get to IRC. Ah, okay! It was something like 'WHO CARES ABOUT JIMMY ANYWAY?' Which was only to be expected... ;) Wendy -------------------------- Wendy Richards w.m.richards@hrm.keele.ac.uk ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 09:36:58 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: This Week, on The Author's Mind... In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" I have tried for a couple of days to access the page but it shows up, then disappears and refuses to download. Am I the only one having this trouble? Carolyn >Hey all!! > >Due to all the chaos on Zoom's boards, I won't be posting there until things >are stable. Be that as it may, I couldn't let this week's author go up >without her announcement! > >This week on the Author's mind, we have an author who needs NO intruduction >or fanfare ... so... I'm not gonna give her any . > >Come read about Wendy Richards this week, and her fantastic story: >FOR THE GREATER GOOD > >http://www.geocities.com/authorsmind/main.html > >You'll also notice that I've put up a preview of who's to come in the next >few weeks... enjoy! > >Finally, there has been a complaint about the site in relation to Netscape. >If you have any problems, please let me know... otherwise use Explorer, which >seems to do fine. I've only had one person with problems, but I hate to see >even that. > >-Crys- > >Manager, The Author's Mind... >Come take a look into the Author's Mind at: >www.geocities.com/authorsmind/main.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:08:14 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: FF: A Little Help, part 4 of ? Comments: To: lcnfanfic@yahoogroups.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit For those on the regular fanfic list, you haven't missed a chapter... exactly. Chapter 3 went nFic on me, and there's nothing essential in it that the story needs, so I'm just going to pick up a chapter later. This chapter will "fill in the blanks" for what you missed, but it does so in a less graphic way. Chapter Four By the time Clark landed on the balcony, he was nearly three hours late. The stories had taken more time than he would have liked because he'd been so distracted, and then Superman had been called to the scene of a fire. He hadn't done much, only checked out the building for survivors so that the fireman wouldn't have to take the risk. It was a small thing, but it made him feel good to know that he'd eliminated at least some risk for the men who did so much for Metropolis. Unfortunately, the experience had left him covered with ash and smelling of smoke. As he eased himself through the glass doors, he knew that he would need a shower before he did anything else. It took him only a moment to discard the uniform, dropping it in the hamper as he walked towards the bathroom. He made a quick pass through the townhouse with his vision, and when he caught sight of Lois downstairs he stopped suddenly. She was sitting in the dining room, her head down on her arms and something in her hand. He didn't bother to look at what it was. That was her business. Still, something about her posture warned him that this wasn't something casual, and he began once more to worry. "Lois," he called out. "I'll be down in just a sec. I need to grab a shower." "That's fine," she said softly. Very softly. If it hadn't been for his hearing he would have missed it. He showered quickly, although the limits of the water pressure prevented a truly "super" shower. He'd tried it in the past, and never managed to get the soap of himself if he didn't take at least a few minutes to get clean. He did manage to get out of the stall in record time, and he didn't bother with dressing. He grabbed his robe from the hook on the back of the bathroom door and headed immediately for the stairs. She was still sitting there when he reached her, her head still down and her hand still clutching something. "I'm sorry I'm late," he said quickly. "There was a fire in the warehouse district, and..." "It's fine," she told him, her voice strangely without expression. "But I'm afraid your dinner got cold." "I'm not hungry," he admitted. "Lois?" She finally looked up and seemed to try to smile. It fell flat. "We need to talk." Clark took a deep breath and knelt down next to her. A thousand scenarios were spinning through his mind. Was she sick? Was she leaving him? Was she having an affair? Was she sick of juggling marriage with a superhero? He didn't know what it could be, but he couldn't think of a single time in his life when those words - 'we need to talk' - had been a good thing. "I'm listening." Lois shifted her hands to her lap, and then met his gaze. "I've been trying to think of a way to say this for weeks," she admitted. "Now I'm starting to understand why you took so long to tell me about the tights." "Whatever it is," he promised. "We can work it out together." She smiled faintly at that. Very faintly. "At first I didn't say anything because I didn't know," she told him. "And then I didn't think it was important; not really. And then it was just embarrassing, and I was so afraid you'd be angry." "Lois..." "And you have a right to be," she added. "I know how you feel about honesty, and I really do feel the same way. I swear I never meant it to be a lie." "What are you talking about?" he asked, fear clear in his voice. "I know I've been a bitch for the last few months," she offered. He couldn't smile at her self-recrimination. He was too afraid. "But it turns out that there was a reason. I went to see Dr. Deerfield, and..." Her head lowered as she trailed off. "Oh, God," he said softly. "You said you just needed vitamins. That's what she said, right? That you were tired?" "That was part of it." Her eyes were wide and filled with tears as she opened them again to meet his gaze once more. "Lois?" he begged. No, there couldn't be anything wrong. But she'd lost so much weight, and she was always tired. Thoughts of cancer and heart disease raced through his mind before he could halt them, brain tumors and leukemia, AIDS and other incurable illnesses. She held her hand out to him, displaying a small brown pharmacy bottle. Clark took it from her, turning it so that he could see more than the capsules inside. "Prozac?" he asked in confusion. "I've been taking them since I went to see her," she said, her voice breaking. He didn't have to look up from the bottle to know she was crying. "She said it was moderate depression. Not really serious, but something that needed to be treated." "Depression?" he asked, his mind still rallying from the thoughts of her dying a horrible death. "There's this long explanation about brain chemicals and body reactions, but I can't remember all of it. Basically this stuff is supposed to balance out my brain chemicals so that I'm a little more reasonable." She gave a self-depreciating smile. "I don't know how well it's working." "How long?" he asked faintly, his eyes still on the bottle of drugs. "About six weeks," she told him. "At first the dosage was too low, though, and it didn't help very much. I only kept taking it because I didn't know what else to do. About three weeks ago they moved the dosage up, and I've been doing better since then. I still cry too much." She wiped away tears as if to illustrate the point. "But I'm not yelling as much." "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly. She'd already told him, but she answered again. "I didn't believe it at first," she explained. "I didn't feel sad, I just felt out of control; like I didn't know what I was going to do next. I didn't want to worry you if it turned out the doctor was wrong. I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly at the time. And later, half of it was being embarrassed that I had to take it, and the rest was worrying about what you'd think. I knew you'd be angry that I lied about it, and I just didn't want to face it. Then it had been longer, and I knew it would be worse, and so I just kept putting it off." Clark finally stood from the kneeling position he'd assumed before her, and walked into the living room to sit on the couch. He was still looking at the bottle, and he finally opened it and poured the green and white capsules out into his palm. He heard Lois walk across the room to sit next to him, but he didn't respond for a moment. It explained a lot. It explained the erratic behavior, as well as the improvement over the last couple of weeks. It explained her reluctance to talk to him as well. If she was hiding something - anything - she would be uncomfortable around him. Remembering a time when her anger had destroyed his world, he kept his emotions in check as he considered her reasoning. No, it didn't make a lot of sense, but then she hadn't been exactly rational when it had all started. He also knew her feelings about psychiatrists and councilors, so it followed that she would consider the illness as a weakness. Finally, she seemed genuinely sorry, and he had to take that into account. Yes, he was angry. Hurt as well, but he knew that would become worse when he started getting though the anger. They had a relationship based on love and trust, and the fact that she hadn't come to him was tearing him apart. She was his life, and he hadn't even understood what was going on when hers started falling apart. Yes, she should have told him, but he should have seen it as well. A good deal of his anger was self-directed. "Clark?" He looked up at her, not at all surprised to see tears on her face. Her eyes were puffy from crying, as they had been all too often lately. Where had his mind been? Why hadn't he seen? People died from this, and he had been totally clueless. "Just thinking," he hedged, trying to buy some time. "I know," she said, a faint smile on her face, but it was gone quickly. "I've spent a lot of time doing that, too. I just... need you to know how sorry I am. I love you more than anything, and I never wanted to hide anything from you. It just sort of... happened." "Why now?" he asked softly. "I'm glad you told me, but what made you choose now?" She took a deep breath, and then another. He could almost feel her steadying herself, preparing for her answer. He knew then that he wasn't going to like it. "Because of last night," she finally said. Last night. Two words shouldn't carry so much feeling, but they certainly did. It had been an emotional roller coaster for him, from surprise to arousal to disappointment, and he would be a long time getting over it. In retrospect, it made a lot more sense now than it had. At least he could understand her recent lack of libido. That was part of depression too, he thought. When he didn't comment, she continued. "I didn't want you to think it was your fault," she explained. "It's a hormonal thing, really. It has to do with the medication and how it works on the brain. Not being able to... finish... is a side-effect of the drug." "At least you're not ready to leave me," he said with a shrug and a brief attempt at a smile. The humor fell flat. The subject was purely too serious to try to joke around. He had been hurt the night before. It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't been able to satisfy Lois - regardless of the fact that she had been the one to initiate their lovemaking - but instead it had been a feeling that she was no longer interested in him sexually. In the last few months they had made love infrequently, and for her to tune-out during one of those rare sessions had been nothing short of painful for him. What was worse was that given the irregularity of their bedroom activities lately, he had no clue when he would be able to try again. "I should have told you last night," she said softly. "But I was so upset that I didn't know how. You just seemed so..." "Hurt," he supplied, when she didn't finish the sentence. "Yeah." "Only married two years, and I couldn't turn my wife on," he said softly. "Yeah, it hurt." "I know," she admitted. "I'm so sorry." "Stop apologizing," he told her, far more sharply than he intended. "I feel bad enough about this as it is." The anger was seeping through. He wished that he could control it, but he had a feeling that he was going to say something that he would regret. He hoped that Lois would be as forgiving as she was asking him to be. He hoped he didn't make things worse. "I'm..." Thankfully, she didn't finish the sentence. "Lois, I know a little bit about depression," he explained. "When I did the writeup on the homeless problem, that was one thing that kept coming up over and over. I learned more about it than I wanted to know. I saw what it did to people. It stripped them of their families, their homes, and sometimes their lives. This could have killed you, and I wouldn't have even known what happened." "It didn't get that bad," she reasoned. "I never was suicidal. Not really." He grasped that last sentence, feeling the chill as it worked its way through his mind. "Not really?" With a look of resignation, she continued. "I guess I thought about ending it - when I was really low - but it seemed like too much trouble. I wanted to make my life better, not end what there was of it." "Thank God for that much," he said. He wasn't sure if he intended it sarcastically or not. He was thankful it hadn't been that bad, but he was terrified by how bad it had been. "I love you," Lois said suddenly. He felt her hand on his, and then felt it move to his forearm. It was only then that he realized he was still sitting there in only his robe. "And, I want you. I need you, too." He lifted a hand to her face, brushing away tears as he did so. He wondered how she could have tears left after all the crying she'd done. "I love you, too," he said softly. "There's nothing you could do to make me stop loving you. I'm angry, yes. And I wish you had told me sooner." "I know," she said, her voice breaking once more. "I'm..." He stopped her with a thumb across her lips. "You apologized," he told her. "I accepted. That's the end of it." He watched her eyes gratefully close, and then he finally gave into the temptation that was always at the surface when she was near. "Let me hold you?" he asked, his voice turning the command into a question. She nodded, coming closer and into his arms. He tightened his grip on her, resting his chin on the top of her head as he felt her arms slip inside the robe to clutch at bare skin. Her hands were cold, her body tense, and he wondered if anything else was going on in her mind. He would have asked. He probably should have, but he was afraid he wasn't ready for any other answers. Trust had taken a beating, and it needed some time to heal. At this point, he was just glad that they had the time to let it happen. (end of part 4) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 10:22:55 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Shadow Fax Subject: Re: Smallville Pilot -- a review MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On Sun, 5 Aug 2001 00:00:33 -0400, Genevieve Clemens wrote: >(And what makes Lois Lois? One thing I can think of is that Lois is a >woman who for some reason has been told she cannot succeed, and is >determined to prove the world wrong. In the 1930's, it was because she >was a woman, in the 1990s (L&C), it was less that and more because being >a reporter was a dog eat dog career. (You're only as good as your last >story, Kent.) I think her character would be very well cast as a >minority, determined to succeed -- as women become more and more >incorporated into the work place it'll be harder and harder to >understand why Lois is as driven as she is.) > I know that in the show Lois=92s relationship with her father and her attemp= t to make it in a man=92s world were at least partly responsible for her drive= for success, but can we assume that she wouldn=92t be just as competitive even in the absence of those motivating factors? Are high achievers *always* motivated only by feelings of inadequacy? Or is it just *women* who have to feel inadequate in order to feel compelled to succeed? I want to add my voice to those who loved your Smallville review. :-) Based on what you said about the show, I'll probably watch it, which I had not previously planned on doing. I love Lois and Clark, but I'm not much interested in Superman. Still, based on what you've written, I think I might watch the program. Thanks for the interesting and informative review. :-) Shadowfax ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 21:08:18 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Meredith Knight Subject: Question for a fic: suntan? In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Hi, all Would Clark get suntanned? Our skins produce melanin to protect us from harmful UV, and it doesn't harm Clark, in fact it fuels him. Also, if the Krypton sun is red it would have much less UV, and Kryptonians might not have evolved a protection mechanism. Comments? -- Meredith Knight ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 23:14:58 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Re: Question for a fic: suntan? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Hi, Meredith! You asked: >Would Clark get suntanned? Our skins produce melanin to protect us from >harmful UV, and it doesn't harm Clark, in fact it fuels him. Also, if >the Krypton sun is red it would have much less UV, and Kryptonians might >not have evolved a protection mechanism. You're welcome to take it either way, but the idea that Clark shouldn't be able to tan has been used before. In Jeff's superb "Give Me a Home" there is an excerpt that reads as incredibly funny when taken out of context: "I feel horrible. I've got no energy left. I can barely fly. I can't lift much anymore, and I can't see as well as I used to. On top of all that," Clark pulled down around the collar of the Suit to expose his chest a bit more, "I'm getting a sun tan." Of course, when you read it in the story, it takes on a more serious mien; it means there is something very wrong. But I remember laughing out loud when Pam included that excerpt in the "teaser" for this S5 episode. Hazel, who warmly recommends all of S5 and S6 to anybody _______ "Lots of little Bigwigs, Hazel! Think of that, and tremble!" ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 22:09:17 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: James Bishop Subject: In Need of a Beta Reader MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi all,=20 I'm in need of a beta reader to look over a story I've wrote. I = originally posted it here on the listserv nearly two years ago and then = I posted a rewrite on Zoom's old boards last year.=20 I've finally got around to making my final alterations and I'm after = someone who'll be willing to read through it, check for errors etc = before I submit it to the archive.=20 If you're interested please contact me @ James@Bish33.freeserve.co.uk Thanks in advance :) James=20 ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 23:52:19 +0100 Reply-To: Yvonne Connell Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yvonne Connell Subject: Re: Question for a fic: suntan? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Well, on the principle that he's invulnerable, I would reason that he can't get a suntan, given that a suntan is just a very mild sunburn. Yvonne (yvonne@yconnell.fsnet.co.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:07:35 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nancy Smith Subject: Re: Question for a fic: suntan? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > A suntan is the skin's attempt to defend itself against the sun. The skin > produces melanin in response to sun damage. So, unless Clark lost his > powers, I don't see that he would get a suntan. Nan ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 09:37:54 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nicola Baker Subject: Re: Valley of the Shadow Part 8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit s p o i l e r s p a c e ROTFL, I loved the whole discussion about the celbrities. Nic ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 10:08:04 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Nicola Baker Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance Part 17 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Snork. Remember a couple of parts ago, I said I had a few ideas how Nigel could kill Lois? Well, I was wrong. Big surprise. I was a lot closer after the last part, when Nigel was doing his stuff at the airport. I'd feel sorry for the pilot, except that she's alive, so she can't complain too much... Nic ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 06:25:22 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "C.C. Malo" Subject: Re: Question for a fic: suntan? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Yvonne's very wonderful Heliophobia is another fanfic which explores the question of the sun's long term impact on Superman. Carol ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 07:26:05 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: FF: A Little Help, part 6of ? Comments: To: lcnfanfic@yahoogroups.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Again, for the main list, chapter 5 went nFic. All you need to know is that L&C spent some time together, and she asked him to come with her to her next doctor's appointment. Enjoy :) -Crys- Come visit my site at: www.geocities.com/cryswimmer/CrysMain.html Manager, The Author's Mind... Come take a look into the Author's Mind at: www.geocities.com/authorsmind/main.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 07:36:55 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: FF: A Little Help, part 6of ? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/9/2001 7:26:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, JCWimmer@AOL.COM writes: << Again, for the main list, chapter 5 went nFic. All you need to know is that L&C spent some time together, and she asked him to come with her to her next doctor's appointment. Enjoy :) -Crys- Come visit my site at: www.geocities.com/cryswimmer/CrysMain.html Manager, The Author's Mind... Come take a look into the Author's Mind at: www.geocities.com/authorsmind/main.html >> And now, for your reading pleasure... I'll actually send the chapter ;) Chapter 6 "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kent." Clark shook hands with the physician as she introduced herself. Dr. Evans was almost as tall as he was, with eyes that were hidden beneath thick glasses and wavy blond hair that was pulled back with a barrette. "You, too," he responded automatically. The doctor took a moment to seat them next to one another in front of her desk, and then took her own seat behind the huge polished desk. It was a typical doctor's office, with framed diplomas from Duke University Medical Center. He was surprised to see a nursing degree posted as well, along with a family counseling certificate. Apparently, this was one general practitioner who hadn't taken the direct route to MD. As Lois had told him, she seemed to be uniquely qualified. "So, how've you been feeling this week, Lois?" The doctor didn't mess around, but went straight for the matter at hand. Clark had to respect that. "Better," Lois answered, looking to him for confirmation. He nodded and she continued. "Not so much yelling, but I still spend a lot of time in tears." "More or less than the last couple of months?" she asked efficiently, opening the file before her. "Maybe less," Lois said uncertainly. She looked back at Clark, seeking his opinion. "I suppose she doesn't cry as often. She's a lot easier to reassure, though. I've seen that difference. A few weeks ago I didn't dare say anything, because she'd start screaming if you asked what was wrong." The doctor smiled at that. "Definite progress, I'd say." She made a few notes, and then faced Lois again. "How about appetite? Better or worse?" "About the same, really," she admitted. "I eat anyway, though. Not a lot, but I don't skip any meals." "Very good. Sleep?" "Definitely better," Lois said with enthusiasm. "And I'm not nearly so drained. I'm running again, and I'm back to an aerobics class twice a week now." "Excellent." The doctor removed her glasses to reveal a set of startlingly blue eyes. "Are you seeing any side-effects from the medication? Headaches, nausea, dizziness, sexual problems?" Lois looked at Clark. He looked back, gave a nod of encouragement, and waited. This was her appointment, and her body. He had to leave this part up to her. "The headaches stopped, but I'm having another problem since the dosage went up." Lois paused, seemingly uncertain how to continue. "Sexual?" Dr. Evans asked. She was perceptive; he had to give her that. Maybe he'd wind up liking this doctor after all. "Yes," Lois admitted. She shifted around in her seat, looking uncomfortable. "I mean, I'm interested again, and that's better," she explained. "But once we get started, I..." She trailed off again. The doctor gave her a moment to finish, but Lois didn't seem to be able to find the words. Clark was just considering explaining the problem - at least as much as he understood from what Lois had told him - when the doctor began speaking once more. "One of the major problems we see with Prozac is that it makes it difficult for some people to achieve orgasm. Regardless of stimulation, or interest, the body just isn't able to reach that neurological state of release." She noted the relief apparent on Lois' face. "That must be it," she said with a smile. "Exactly." The doctor revealed a wide smile. "I'm a doctor," she reminded Lois. "There isn't much you could say that would shock me. You need to be honest if you want me to be able to help you." She laughed softly before she continued. "Back in residency, I was rotating through OB/GYN. I had a woman come into the clinic and she absolutely refused to undress for the examination. I finally called the primary physician in to help me. He looked her in the eye and said, 'lady, you can't expect me to fix the engine if I don't lift the hood.'" Clark laughed at that. He knew how he hated examinations, but he hadn't really thought about how woman would take them. He'd always assumed that it was his fear that a doctor would notice something different. But even with Dr. Klein, he wasn't comfortable. There was just something about being on display that didn't appeal to him. "My point is," the doctor continued once he and Lois had stopped laughing. "You can't expect me to solve the problems you're having with the medication if I don't know about them. This time I made a lucky guess. Next time, you may need to give me the words." "I understand," Lois admitted. She was still blushing slightly, but she was looking the doctor in the eye now. Good girl, he thought silently. There's nothing in the world that they could do which should be embarrassing. They were married, consenting adults, and they didn't need to apologize for their sex life. "In this case, it's not a difficult fix," the doctor was saying. "There are a number of medications that can treat this type of depression. Actually, we were very lucky to find one that worked so well for you in the first place. Now, it's just a matter of finding one with a similar method of action, which doesn't have the same side-effects. "I'd like to keep you on something as chemically similar to Prozac as possible. The once-daily dosing is convenient, and we already see some improvement. Celexa is a similar medication, just a bit newer, and it shouldn't have the same problem. I'll give you a dosage that is equivalent to what you're taking now, because that seems to be adequate. You'll notice that the milligrams are lower, but that's just because it's a more potent medication and you'll need less of it." She finished writing the prescription, and then tore it off the pad to hand it to Lois. Lois looked at the prescription for a moment, and then back up at the doctor. "How long before I can see some improvement in the... side-effects." "At least a week," Dr. Evans told her, regret clear in her voice. "More likely it will be closer to two. Also, you may not see an improvement, in which case you need to come back. This isn't just an irritant; it's an unnecessary stress for marriages. It's hard enough dealing with depression without the treatment impugning on your sex life." "I'll second that," Lois said softly. "In the meantime," the doctor advised, changing her attention to take in both of them, rather than just Lois. "The inability to achieve orgasm doesn't have to limit your sexual activity. As long as both of you are willing, there are a lot of ways to bring one another pleasure without necessarily achieving an orgasm. Touching, backrubs, warm baths... anything that feels right will make this waiting period a bit easier." She turned her attention to Clark. "And just because she has difficulty with orgasm, it doesn't mean that you should limit yourself. Again, whatever the two of you are comfortable with is what's best for you. Talk to one another, and listen to one another. This is an illness, and it can cause a lot of marital problems if you aren't upfront with one another." Lois looked over at her husband and smiled. "I think we found that out." Clark glanced at his wife, and let her small smile put him at ease. He'd been desperately fighting the blush that the physician's words had caused. He didn't have any problems with sex, but discussing his private life with another woman - or having that woman lecture him on acceptable activities - was uncomfortable. It was reassuring in an odd way, and he needed the information, but it was still embarrassing. "Anything else?" The doctor finally asked. She focused on Lois until she shook her head, and then focused on Clark. "Actually, yes," he said after a moment of thought. He didn't look at Lois, afraid she might object to the question, but he had to know. "I don't want to make anything worse, or put Lois under any additional stress," he explained. "Is there anything I should or shouldn't do?" The doctor smiled, turning her gaze to Lois. "Let's find out," she said. "Lois, what would you like your husband to do? What do you need?" Lois considered that for a while. "I don't want you to always give in," she told Clark. "I love that you're there for me, but I don't want you to treat me like I'm an invalid. I'm getting better, and I can still hold my own in an argument, so you don't have to step so carefully around me." Clark reached out and took her hand in his. So, she had noticed how gently he'd been treading around her uncertain moods. "I think I can mange that," he admitted. "And tell me when I'm out of line," she asked of him. "You always have in the past, and I think I need that perspective even more now." Clark only nodded. "That sounds like a good plan," the doctor advised. "Just talk to one another, and be honest about it. You'll do fine as long as you keep those lines of communication open." * * * Clark set his chin on Lois' head and looked over her at the monitor. "Who." She turned back to look at him curiously. "Who," he said again, pointing. "The police officer who was at the scene. You can't use 'that' in the sentence, because the officer is a person rather than an object." "That's a matter of opinion," she argued. "You didn't talk to the guy." Clark just grinned at her. He had to know if she was serious about acting as they always had, and this seemed as innocuous a way as possible to find out for sure. She had always hated making her own corrections, insisting that editors should have to earn their pay. "Always editing my copy," she mumbled, making the change in the story. Thankfully, there was no heat in her voice, but rather the playful banter he was accustomed to. "Always have," he told her, kneeling down to peer at the remainder of the story. He gave a sideways glance, and then reached over to her mouse and scrolled the document down. He didn't see any other errors. "Looks good," he finally concluded. Lois leaned her head sideways, resting it against his while she sent the story to Perry. "Thanks," she said softly. "And not just for the story." He shrugged one shoulder and turned to face her. "It's what I'm here for," he assured her. When she just looked at him, a soft smile on her lips and her brown eyes wide and trusting, he leaned forward and kissed her gently. "Mmm," she murmured. "Nice." "I've missed you," he said softly. "I missed me, too." He brushed his cheek against hers, and then stood. With a last smile he carried the folder in his hand towards Perry's office. He was only half way there when Jimmy cornered him. "How's it going, C.K.?" Clark looked back at his wife, now working intently. "Pretty good," he answered with a smile. "No claw marks today," Jimmy remarked, giving Clark a grin. His smile fell at that. "She's had a hard time the last couple of months," Clark admitted. "But we all do that, sometimes. Give her a break." "Half the time I'm afraid she's going to break me," Jimmy admitted wryly, and then caught the serious expression on the older man's face. "Is she okay?" "Yeah, Jimmy," he said, patting him on the arm. "She's just fine." Jimmy nodded, accepting Clark's reassurance. "That for Perry?" he asked. "Yeah, it's the preliminary report from our source at the Pentagon. He wanted a look at it to verify some of the facts. Apparently, he's been seeing some contradictions in the reports, and he wants to eliminate those before we move forward." "He doesn't want Washington breathing down our necks?" Jimmy asked with a grin. "Gee, he's just no fun anymore. You want me to take that in for him? I'm going anyway." "That would be great," he allowed, handing over the folder. "I'd like to get out of here on time today, and I know that folder's at least three Elvis stories worth." Jimmy laughed again. "Have a good night, C. K." "I plan to," Clark said with a glance back at his wife. "I really do. (end chapter 6) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 19:29:42 +0100 Reply-To: Yvonne Connell Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yvonne Connell Subject: Re: Question for a fic: suntan? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Yvonne's very wonderful Heliophobia is another fanfic which explores the > question of the sun's long term impact on Superman. > > Carol > /me blushes... Thank you, Carol! I'd forgotten all about that story when I replied to Meredith's question - is it a bad sign when you don't remember your own stories? Yvonne (yvonne@yconnell.fsnet.co.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 14:39:06 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Natascha Kortum Subject: Return from LAFF Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Hi all, Sorry to bother you. ;) But there were just too many people that wanted me to let them know when I got home. And this list is definitely the easiest way! :)) I finally made it home about an hour ago. And I did drop off my films on the way so I will have them developed tonight. Hopefully I will be able to scan a bunch tomorrow during my lunch break. (The one positive thing about going back to work ). I am not sure how much you have heard about LAFF yet with zoom's board being hit by that virus... I did post an update last week but I am not sure anybody got to read it. Since I am one of the last LAFFers to get home, you should have heard everything by now. ;) If not, I will be on irc in a little bit, willing to spill it all. :) I would like to thank everyone that helped make LAFF such a success. I had a lot of fun! Pre-LAFF, LAFF, and After-LAFF were great! I enjoyed everything. :) Special thanks go to everyone that helped me out during the whole credit card fiasco, namely Brenda, Anita, Anne, Kristin, Pat, Mike... I know I am forgetting a bunch... but I only had two hours of sleep. FoLCs once again came through. You are the best! Natascha (off to take a hower and do laundry) _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 15:50:57 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: James Tull Subject: Question for a FanFic: Lord Kal-El or Lord El In the New Kryptonians arc, did they refer to him as Lord Kal-El or just Lord El? James ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 13:07:59 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Melisma Subject: Re: Question for a FanFic: Lord Kal-El or Lord El In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" If memory serves, Lord Kal-El. And sometimes Kal-El. Don't think I heard anyone call him Lord El... At 03:50 PM 09/08/2001 -0500, you wrote: >In the New Kryptonians arc, did they refer to him as Lord Kal-El or just >Lord El? > >James > > Visit my rock at http://www.intergate.ca/personal/melisma/index.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 16:57:40 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Alexis W." Subject: Re: Question for a FanFic: Lord Kal-El or Lord El MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/9/01 1:57:05 PM Pacific Daylight Time, mr_d8a@YAHOO.COM writes: > In the New Kryptonians arc, did they refer to him as Lord Kal-El or just > Lord El? > > James > Lord Kal-El Alexis ;-.) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 05:03:25 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Meredith Knight Subject: Re: Question for a fic: suntan? In-Reply-To: <3B71C636.443DE045@earthlink.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Thanks for the help, everyone! I dare say I'll have more clueless newbie questions before I'm finished. :^) -- Meredith Knight ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 23:14:37 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: Valley of the Shadow, 9/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sorry this is late today - big day for us. Three small kids for 8 hours in a house that really isn't kid friendly... draw your own conclusions! Anyway - here it is. Comments appreciated! CM ***** Lois checked for Clark again as soon as she felt she could ask for the binoculars again without being obvious or ignoring her dinner. When she focused her attention on the area behind home plate, he was gone. She panned the area and noticed the two stars her husband and his companion had noticed earlier. She made a mental note to try to find reruns of the series they had been in. She remembered the superhero had married his lady-love and maybe they could give her some insight into being married to someone who was slightly more than normal. She also wondered why they weren't enjoying the game together. She caught them sharing a glance and noticed how quickly they both looked away. So much like her and Clark. She sighed and turned her attention to her meal, the field holding no more interest for her now. ***** Clark sat down at his desk, trying desperately not to look at the desk of his wife. *Wife,* he thought bitterly. Only two weeks earlier it had been the most wonderful word he knew and now all it brought was bitterness. Lois was gone. The baby was gone. What did he have left to live for? He loved Lois with all his heart. He loved the baby. He knew the child would never be born, would never grow up, never really exist, but he still loved the child as much as he would have if he or she had been born and then something happened. There was a big ache in his heart, a hole that had appeared when he received the first email from Lois telling him that there wasn't going to be a baby. A hole that increased in size with each passing day. A hole that told him there wasn't going to be a little piece of them to love and cherish. Today was the day. He was going to talk to Perry. He needed a change. He couldn't deal with the apartment anymore. Lois' things were still there as were the little items that they had bought together for the life that Lois had been carrying. He took a deep breath and stood up. Lois was coming back to work tomorrow and he didn't want to be here. It had been hard enough the time he'd seen her as Superman. Rescuing her was easy. Dealing with her was not. He had finally come up with an idea. He knocked on Perry's door. "Perry? Can I talk to you?" Perry looked up from the article he was editing. "Sure, son. You know you can always talk to me. What is it?" Clark sat on the couch. "I want to be reassigned." Perry raised an eyebrow. "What?" He should have known this was coming. "John's going on vacation and Bill was supposed to replace him. But Bill had a heart attack and can't go on the road with the Metropolis Comets. I'd like to take his place." "Baseball? You want the baseball beat?" Clark nodded. "I grew up listening to the Cardinals and Royals on the radio and watching them whenever we could get a game on T. V. I played some in high school and I've gone to games a couple of times a year my whole life. I can give you the stats of any player in the league - from the hot new rookie in St. Louis to Barry Bonds - who might break the home run record this year. I can do the job." It didn't hurt that he'd sped-read the sports sections from the whole season the night before. "It's not that, Kent. I know you can do it, but you're an investigative reporter, not a sports guy." Clark looked pleadingly at his editor. "Please, Perry. I need to get out of town for a few days, weeks, years. I can't deal with things here anymore." "So that's what it is. Lois is coming back tomorrow and you don't want to be here." "Not just here. I can't deal with being at home either. Lois' things are there and the things that we bought before she..." Clark's voice trailed off, unable to continue. Perry sighed. As much as they tried to keep things quiet, rumors were spreading like wildfire about Lois, Clark and the baby. He hated to waste one of his best reporters on a baseball team, but Clark wasn't going to be much use here. And Lane and Kent, the hottest reporting team the Planet had ever known, was definitely on the fritz. He'd lose both of them if he tried to make them work together. "Please, Perry." Perry couldn't take the look of anguish and the tears that threatened to spill behind the wire rimmed glasses. "Okay. Go." "Thanks. I'll leave this afternoon. The team's plane takes off at three for New York. They play the Mets tomorrow. Good thing that the Planet has a permanent seat on their plane. The road trip lasts two weeks. I'll be back then." Perry nodded, having difficulty holding his own tears back, as the young man left the office. ***** Clark picked up the bag he had stashed under his desk in the hopes that Perry would agree to the plan. As he stood, his heart stopped. Without even looking up, he knew. She was here. He turned and went up the stairs, knowing his wife would take the ramp. He was wrong. Lois had made the same assumption about Clark. They almost collided, but managed to avoid each other. As hard as she tried, she couldn't avoid looking at him. He was still incredibly handsome, but he also looked as haggard as she felt. Good. He deserved it. He deserted her after she had miscarried their baby - the one he had claimed to want so badly. Maybe he regretted it, just a little bit. She hoped he had the same tortured dreams at night as she did. "Hi." His voice hadn't changed. "Hi. I'd ask how you are, but... I think I already know." Clark sighed. She was as beautiful as ever, in a sad sort of way. But she had been getting his emails. She had to know how much this was tearing him apart. "Are you going somewhere?" Clark looked at the bag he held. "I'm going to travel with the Comets for a couple of weeks." "Football." "Baseball, Lois." Lois could feel the tears start to come as he spoke her name, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "Right, baseball. Well, don't get hit in the face by one of those pucks." "Right, Lois." Clark smiled a sad smile, reminded of the grin and the teasing that would have accompanied the conversation a few weeks earlier, to be followed by a kiss, or two, and then... Clark shook his head. He didn't want to go there. "Um, I've got to go. The plane leaves in less than an hour." "You hate flying commercial." "I know, but I have to." "Right. Well, good luck." "You, too." Clark looked in her eyes for just a moment. Something was missing that had been there before. They had a glassy look to them. It broke Clark's heart to see the heartache there and he wondered about it. Maybe she was covering up in her emails. But in that instant, whatever he had seen - or not seen - disappeared and she was even colder than she had seemed when they first met. "Bye, Lois." "Bye... Clark." Clark turned and walked to the elevator, his head hung so that his chin was almost touching his chest. He didn't look up until after the elevator doors had closed in front of him. ***** Clark gratefully settled into his window seat on the plane. He hated flying commercial, Lois had been right about that, but he really didn't have a choice. He didn't know what he was going to do about Superman. It would be difficult to take off in the top of the ninth with the game tied or something, but he'd just have to deal with it. Once Superman had reappeared - with a rather lame excuse - crime had actually slowed down. As long as Superman kept showing up, things would stay that way. He hoped. As long as he was sitting by the window he might be able to keep nosy reporters out of his business. Seeing Lois had been almost more than he could deal with. He hadn't known just how deep the hurt had gone. It tore him to his very core. He loved his wife very much, even though he had only spoken with her twice in the last two weeks. No matter what she had done to their child, he loved her. He just wished that she would talk to him and try to help him understand. Maybe if she did, he'd know where she was coming from and they could work through things together. "Clark!" The voice interrupted Clark's internal meanderings. He looked up. "Hi, Bruce." Bruce Jones sat down in the aisle seat. "Since when does the great investigative reporter join the lowly sports guys? Uncovering a conspiracy trying to help the Cubs win the World Series?" Clark had to chuckle a bit at that. "No. I don't think that'll ever happen. John's on vacation and Bill had a heart attack. He's going to be fine, but no travelling for a while." "You're right. Not even Superman could help the Cubs win a Series. So why you? Perry not happy with your last story and sending you out to pay your dues?" "No, I volunteered." Bruce looked slightly shocked. "And left that lovely wife of yours behind?" Clark turned to stare out the window. "She doesn't mind." "Ah. Touchy subject. Say no more. Need some time away and what better way than baseball. You been following this Pujols kid? Not looking forward to seeing him in St. Louis next week." Clark turned back to the LNN-Metropolis reporter. At least baseball was a safe topic. "He's been pretty amazing. They were right to name him NL Rookie of the Month in April, May and June. The way he's going, he'd have to really blow it to not be named Rookie of the Year. And, hey, he made the All-Star Team." "Ah, so he's not just a pretty face; he does know his baseball." "I grew up listening to the Royals and Cardinals, so I have to keep up. Dad would kill me if I didn't." Bruce clasped Clark's shoulder with one hand. "Well, hey, Rodriguez is giving me an interview on this flight, so I gotta get. But, we're glad to have you." He stood and started to walk off, but turned back. "Clark, I don't know what's going on with you and Lois - I'm sure the rumors will be flying before long, but I don't put much stock in them - but talk to her. Whatever you do, don't let the lines of communication close. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. That's why I'm out here, on the road for LNN-Metropolis, eleven months out of the year." Clark nodded and turned back to his window. He hoped no one else would bother him. ***** Lois had planned on sitting at her desk and trying to get reacquainted with her place of employment, but seeing the picture sitting there made it too much. The sight of her and Clark laughing and so obviously in love was more than she could bear. She did pick it up and look at it sadly for a moment, but she didn't return it to the regular spot. Instead she put it upside down in her top drawer where she wouldn't have to look at it every day. She walked into Perry's office and sat dejectedly on the couch, waiting for the editor to return from a staff meeting. Seeing Clark had taken more out of her than she thought it would. He had made it plain in his emails that he didn't want anything to do with her, just reinforcing what Jimmy had told her almost two weeks earlier. It had been all she could do to keep from losing herself in his once warm chocolate eyes. His eyes had looked different somehow - something was missing from them that had been there before. She wanted to believe that it was his love for her that was missing - it would make accepting things easier if he didn't love her anymore - but that wasn't it. It had still been there - he still loved her. That was something, but his last email had said something else. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the site of the computer screen that appeared unbidden. Lois - I know you are going through a tough time - I am too - but I know that I am coping well. From what Lucy has told me and from your emails, I see that you are doing well, too. I think that we need to acknowledge that our problems are not going away and that we both need to get on with our lives, even if we do so separately. I know that I am ready to get on with things. I hope you are too and that you aren't living in the past. What happened, happened, but let's not let one bad event ruin the rest of our lives. Clark He had seemed so callous and cold. She didn't know how he thought she had it all together from her emails. Some of them had been rather frantic. But, he wanted to get on with life, without her, according to his email, but he still loved her. His eyes had told her. He had never been able to hide anything when she looked in his eyes. Lois sighed. Maybe she should find a new job. Maybe she should move to Alaska or South Africa or somewhere and she'd never have to see him again. As long as she wasn't in an area that had earthquakes or tidal waves or hurricanes. She didn't want him rescuing her anymore either. The two times he had rescued her had been more than a bit awkward. She sighed. Work wasn't going to be easy, but maybe it would be a bit easier without Clark around to deal with. ***** Perry started just a bit when he realized that Lois was sitting in his office, but retained his composure. He hadn't become the editor-in-chief of the world's greatest newspaper because he could yodel, but all of his years of experience hadn't prepared him to deal with two star reporters who were married and having problems of the magnitude of Lois and Clark's. He sat on the edge of his desk and looked at Lois. No matter what had happened, what she had done, this was obviously taking its toll on her. It must not have been as easy to deal with as she would have thought. "I didn't think you were coming back until tomorrow, darlin'." "I'm just here to look around and reconnect. I don't start working again until tomorrow." "Didn't look like you ever stopped. Didn't Clark write up Superman's rescue of you the other day?" "Yes, he did." "Doesn't sound like you were taking it easy then." "It was just that once. I couldn't sit around any longer and I wanted to find out who was behind Clark's kidnapping." Perry couldn't help but noticed she hesitated just a bit before she said Clark's name. "You wanted to find out who was behind the kidnapping?" He raised an eyebrow. Clark had told him about the emails he'd been receiving from Lois. From the sound of them Lois wanted absolutely nothing to do with Clark or investigating his disappearance. "Even though... even though," Lois took a deep breath, "things aren't going well with Clark and I, I still want to know what happened. You know me and a story. Like a pit bull, right?" Lois didn't have much conviction behind her words. "Right." Perry took a deep breath. "Why don't you get out of here and relax this evening and come back ready to work tomorrow?" "Sounds like a good idea." Lois stood and picked up her purse. She started to walk out of the editor's office. She paused by the door and then turned to talk to Perry. "And Perry?" "Yes, Lois?" "Thank you for reassigning Clark." Perry shook his head. "It wasn't my doing, Lois. He asked to be reassigned." "Oh." Lois stared at him for a minute and then left. Clark had asked to be reassigned. He wanted to be gone before she ever showed up. Didn't sound like a guy pining away for his wife, now did it? Instead he was probably at 35,000 feet glad to be away from her. ***** ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 00:15:50 -0500 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Help - MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Can someone help me. I have a really weird error. I was posting a comment on zoom's mirror boards and got an internal error. Now when I try to go to the mirror site - I get coding (cgi/perl script is what zoom calls it). no menu or fanfic - I'm having story withdrawals here. Anyone know how to get me out of this cgi and back to the boards? Don't have problems getting elsewhere. merry ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 03:31:55 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Phil Atcliffe Subject: NEW: Imbalance Part 18 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 [What a way to start the day -- having a 400-ton airliner with 600 people on board, *on fire* yet, almost crash into the building that you work in! Fortunately, thanks to Someone We Know , the Dastardly Plan didn't work. Time to collar the culprits... Now read on:] ***** The people in the Planet newsroom would never forget what they had seen that morning, although what they remembered was more impression than detailed images. The sight of the 747 as it bore down on them, its wings afire, was seared into their memories. But then the blazing harbinger of doom began to rise, to turn away from them as though it had changed its mind. Sudden hope began to flare in a few hearts, but most there were too deep in a bleak expectation of death for the possibility of survival to register. Only when the aircraft roared over them with a howl that shook the entire building -- but *not* with the crash or the deadly blast that seemed inevitable -- did the newsroom staffers look at one another in amazement that they were still there. How many of the dozens who later, after Jimmy Olsen's photos were developed, claimed to have seen the man in the brightly-coloured spandex under the belly of the metal giant, actually did, is a question that will never be answered. Jimmy himself freely admitted that *he* didn't, but then, at the time, he was too busy taking the photographs that were, some months later, to win him a Kerth award to notice; he may have used the small blue-and-red figure, stark and bright against the aluminium undersides of the plane, as an aiming point, but he couldn't really remember. This honesty won him a few brownie points with Lois, but Perry was more impressed that he kept taking the pictures even when it was unlikely that he'd live to develop them, or that the Daily Planet would exist to publish them. Both editor and reporter agreed, though for different reasons: the kid had the makings of a real newsman. Lois herself had memories that could rival those of any of her colleagues. Where hers differed from anyone else's was that she knew what was happening, and she was still trying to sort out her reactions. She missed seeing Clark-- Superman -- reach the aircraft, but when it began to rise against the background of the city, she knew he must be responsible. She stopped scanning the sky and peered at the approaching aerial monster, looking for the tell-tale primary colours. *There!* There he was! Her heart leapt, and she could barely restrain herself from gleefully pointing out the caped figure, tiny compared to the gigantic airliner, but the only hope for everyone in the building. The 747 screamed overhead, flames from the burning engines streaming behind. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the awesome sight, but only Lois knew to watch for the man rather than the aircraft or the fire. It was his image that *she* would forever remember, and the clarity with which she could see him was a continual source of amazement to her for the rest of her life. He was quite some distance away -- at least, to the unaided eye -- but she somehow took in every detail of the way he looked at that moment: the determined set of his jaw, the intense frown of concentration, the rippling of his muscles as he strained to save the plane -- *and* the Daily Planet. 'And you,' her annoying little voice whispered. And then it, and he, were gone and, for all the sound and fury of the last few moments, nothing more happened. People sank into chairs or to the floor, exhausted by the release of tension as Death turned his back on them. Lois stumbled across to her desk, as affected as anyone else, but also thinking hard. One thing was certain now: after what she had just seen, she *had* to accept that Kent was from another planet. He wasn't kidding when he had said that he might be stronger than she realised. Even if she ignored the flying and the super-speed, no cyborg or robot could possibly lift a fully- laden jumbo jet like that! 'Okay, Lois, you've got an alien for a partner. Just how do you feel about that?' The answer, she was surprised to find, was that it didn't matter. Guys from... where was it? Krypton or something like that... were, if Kent was a typical example, so like ordinary men -- super-powers notwithstanding -- that their home planet was pretty much irrelevant. What was important, at least to her, was that she now believed what he had told her about his origin; and if he had told the truth about *that*, might he not have been honest with her about everything? That he really did want to be her friend, and work with her; that he wasn't using her for some other purpose entirely? She shivered; in some peculiar way, that was a frightening thought. But perhaps even more frightening, now that she had the time to reflect on them, were her own reactions and emotions of just a few moments before. She had looked for Kent -- well, that was understandable; he'd warned her of the danger and that he was about to go public, and he'd certainly been the only hope of avoiding a disastrous collision of that airliner with the building. But when she'd spotted him, she'd... felt almost overjoyed; and all the time he was in action, she'd been excited, but not worried, or fearful like everyone else around her -- except, maybe, Jimmy, who was too busy to be scared. Instead, she'd had this incredible... confidence that Clark -- no, Superman; she had to remember to only refer to him as Superman when he was in "the suit" -- would... would... (she winced at the clich=E9) ...save the day. She remembered -- she didn't think she'd ever *forget* -- the look on his face when he was straining to get the 747 up and over the building, but she wasn't worried about him *not* doing it, or the consequences of failure. No, somehow, she just *knew* he could do it, and she'd found herself just urging him on like... like a sports fan, of all things! 'Great going, Lois! Why didn't you just whip out a pair of pom-poms and lead a couple of cheers? 'I don't know... What has Kent *done* to me?' But there was something else, too, that nagging thought at the back of her mind returning for another bite at her insecurities. Now, she'd finally seen Clark Kent-- *Superman!* -- in action. She knew, from *watching* as opposed to his telling her, just what he was capable of. Why did he need *her* -- Lois Lane, ordinary human, even if she was a brilliant reporter -- to work with him? And if he did insist, for some incomprehensible reason, that he still wanted her as a partner, how on earth was she going to keep up with him? With someone who could do all *that?* He could super-hear; he could see through things; he could float and fly; he could move and do things incredibly fast. Wouldn't she just hold him back? Were her days as the best reporter in the city at an end? How long until he ditched her -- as his friend as well as his partner? And so much for any thoughts she'd had earlier about Clark as a potential romantic interest. Why would a man that powerful, that spectacular, that *awesome*, in appearance as well as ability, have any interest at all in plain Lois Lane, untouched still at the age of twenty-nine? Her reverie came to an abrupt end when Perry, who'd emerged from his office in time to see the drama that had just played itself out, bellowed, "Okay, people! You're all still alive! Now, let's get cracking and find out *why!* And *who* was that guy underneath the plane, and what was he doing there?" Lois, together with many of her colleagues, was brought back to the present by the editor's familiar voice. As usual, Lois was that bit quicker than the rest, and she yelled back, "Kent and I are on it, Chief!" This brought resentful glares from other reporters and a satisfied smile from Perry, who turned his attention to Jimmy, demanding prints of his photos in the next five minutes, if not sooner. Only after her boss had tacitly dismissed her to get on with it did Lois smile wryly to herself at the thought of just how much Kent knew about the events of the last few minutes. She didn't like the idea of having to play second fiddle to him on this; maybe she could convince him to let her write most of this story on the grounds that he was too closely involved...? She sighed and reached for the phone. Whether or not Kent would go along with her on that, she needed to dig up some information of her own to contribute, and the first thing she needed to know was as much as possible about how that plane had ended up on fire and heading for the Planet. Metro Airport would be a good place to start, although she'd only get the PR fluff; but then she'd see if she could get hold of that contact she had in the National Transportation Safety Board... ***** Clark probably should have felt relieved as he left the airport and headed back towards the city; after all, the 747 and all its passengers were safe, and so was the Planet -- and so was Lois. But he knew something that almost no-one else did -- namely, that the plane had been attacked -- and so he hurtled back into the downtown area, a grim frown on his face as his super- vision searched out the perpetrators of such a foul deed. They weren't hard to find; remnants of the missile trails still hung in the air, and with them to guide him, Clark quickly located those he sought. The four mercenaries were making their escape, but, as stunned as anyone else by what had happened, they'd left it just that little too late. Superman flashed up to the first pair, appearing to materialise out of thin air between them and the stairwell leading down from the roof, arms crossed and a stern expression on his face. "All right," he barked, "Put your weapons down and your hands up!" "Dummy" and his partner froze in their tracks at the commanding voice -- but not for long. Hand-guns -- big ones, .357 Magnums -- were produced quickly. "Get outta the way, Fancy-pants, or we'll blow you away," sneered "Dummy". "And your pretty clothes will be all bloody..." Superman didn't waste time bantering with them. A short blast of heat vision made them drop the guns without further ado, but the pair weren't finished yet; the second man quickly raised his bag and pointed it in the direction of the hero, then reached inside. A roar and a flash as the bag disintegrated revealed the until-now unused SAM launcher, and the missile headed straight for the caped figure -- until he moved, so fast that the expectant thugs could barely see the blur, and *caught* it. He stood there for just a second, holding the missile effortlessly, even though its rocket motor continued to burn furiously; then, in one swift, elegant motion, he whirled and *threw* the projectile into the air, where it disappeared from view, high above the city. That did it. The two men raised their hands, but slowly, as though their minds wouldn't move their muscles any faster. Though their arms went up slowly, they came back down very quickly when a red-and-blue blur surrounded them, and before their senses could properly register what was happening, they found themselves on their stomachs, securely bound hand and foot with their own belts and bag straps. There was a *whoosh*, and a startled Metro PD officer found himself standing over the bound men. Superman appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and said, "I suggest you call for assistance, Officer -- and maybe the FBI. These two men are part of a team of four who just attacked an airliner with the weapons that you see over there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going after their team-mates." And he was gone. The patrolman stood in stunned silence for a moment, then decided to follow the advice he'd been given -- although by whom, he had *no* idea! However he'd ended up here, there were two guys and a whole bunch of nasty-looking hardware lying around, and it *did* look like a case for the Feds, so it was time to pass the buck... ***** The time taken to apprehend the first pair of mercenaries had given their opposite numbers on the other team the chance to get off the roof of their building. They'd changed out of their overalls and now presented the appearance of two fairly ordinary businessmen -- very fit ones, admittedly, but that only made the presence of their large sports bags more credible. They strolled calmly out of the building, chatting amiably; to any onlooker, the very picture of, say, a couple of colleagues or friends with plans for later that day -- and Superman pounced! Skirts billowed and hats and newspapers went flying in the sudden rush of wind as the two men vanished from the street in an instant. They found themselves suspended uncomfortably in mid-air, a *long* way above the tallest buildings in the city, hanging from some unknown support by -- that is, *in* -- their jackets. Startled, they began to squirm around, trying to see what was holding them up, because one thing was for sure: there wasn't anything under their feet! "I'd cut that out if I were you," said a voice close by. "If you thrash around too much, you'll fall out of your jacket, and I don't think you're wearing a parachute." The men froze -- save for their heads, which turned to face one another and then, after a moment of stunned silence, looked upwards to see the uncanny figure of Superman, stretched out horizontally behind them -- and, they began to realise with ever-increasing dread, with a firm grip on the collars of their jackets! "You two have a date with the authorities," the Man of Steel said quietly, "but before you meet them, answer me two questions: *why* did you shoot down that airliner, and who told you to?" No answer was forthcoming, either through stubbornness or because their brains had yet to re-connect with their tongues. Superman frowned slightly. "I don't think you guys quite understand the situation. You just tried to kill several thousand people, and I don't take kindly to that. You are also over a thousand feet in the air, and *I* am the only thing holding you up. I put it to you that it is in your best interests to co-operate before my grip slips -- which it *will* do, eventually..." And he smiled. It was the pleasant, almost nonchalant way that he said the last few words that really put the scare into the mercenaries; it was psychological warfare of the most effective kind, and it worked. There would have been an impromptu race to see which man could talk first, but there was an interruption: Nigel's voice came over the radio link to their earpieces -- and Superman heard it. "What's going on? Answer me, you idiots!" came the angry voice. Clark stiffened as he realised that there was another player in the game, a leader -- and one with a pronounced accent... which might just be his downfall. Quickly, he scanned the surrounding area of the city, concentrating his super-vision and hearing to locate the owner of that voice. He couldn't be too far away, because those radio receivers were pretty short-range. Now, if he'd just say something more, so that Clark could get a fix on him... ***** Nigel was desperate for information. His plan had failed -- but *how?* The aircraft had been disabled, and he'd had it under his control and headed right for the Daily Planet... and then it had somehow all gone wrong. The plane had miraculously managed to climb away from the city without hitting anything... but it couldn't *do* that! In his work with the SIS, Nigel had spent his fair share of time observing aircraft of all types, and he thought he had a good idea of the capabilities of a 747 -- and they *didn't* run to incredible climbs like the one necessary to escape from the trap for Miss Lane that he had spent so much time and effort to create. The bloody thing should have stalled and crashed right into the building it was aimed at; if it came to that, it shouldn't have done *anything*, because it was supposedly under his control... 'What the hell happened? Does that woman have a charmed life?' And now, to pile adversity upon misfortune, he couldn't contact either of the attack teams. This was looking worse and worse. 'Time to cut and run,' he thought. 'There is obviously more to Miss Lane than meets the eye, and a wise man does not blindly strike out in despite of the evidence.' He quickly packed up his control equipment and headed for the exit. Just before he left, he made one final broadcast: "You're on your own, gentlemen. We will meet at the rendezvous at the appointed time." 'Unless I decide that it's too dangerous, in which case I will make... other arrangements for your demise.' ***** 'Got him!' Clark thought as his hearing picked up the distinctive sound of Nigel's voice -- but not from the earpieces of the men dangling from his hands. Quickly, his super-vision located the speaker, and a quick x-ray check confirmed that *that* must be the man he wanted; who else would be carrying a briefcase full of that kind of sophisticated electronic equipment -- and the rest of the stuff that Clark could see, including the gun? He released the two men, but only to get a better grip on them, and dived down on the city with them in tow. A fraction of a second later, they were lying on the same building roof as their "colleagues", similarly bound. The MPD cop looked up from his radio to see that he was now "guarding" twice as many men, with twice as many weapons resting next to them. "Here's the other two," Superman informed him. "Now I'm after their boss." And he was gone again, before the increasingly befuddled policeman was even sure of what he'd seen. ***** [Four down, one to go... Of course, Nigel is more dangerous than all of the mercs put together -- in the same way that his IQ is greater. ;) That's why he gets a section all to himself -- next time.] Phil ---- "I think... I think I am! Therefore I am... I think?" -- The Moody Blues I think _I_ am Phil Atcliffe (atcliffe@perdicas.fsnet.co.uk) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 04:36:04 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Diane Trim Subject: Re: Valley of the Shadow, 9/? In-Reply-To: <20010809.231514.-169407.0.cmoncado@juno.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii S P O I L E R S P A C E Carol: I loved your installment, but I'm not sure how much more my heart strings can take! I hope that Clark follows Bruce's advice and talks to Lois soon. Or, maybe, that Lois reads Clark's e-mail from "her." More soon, please! Diane --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 07:31:24 -0500 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Re: Valley of the Shadow, 9/? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I'm with Diane here Carol, Fix this fast. Both of them love each other - they need to know what actually happpened. I hate manipulation. more soon please merry ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 05:33:21 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Diane Trim Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance Part 18 In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii S P O I L E R S P A C E Wendy and Phil: Nice installment! I already replied on the message board, so I'll summarize here: Lois is so insecure! I hope Clark either reassures her or makes some sort of entertaining (well, entertaining for me, the reader) courting gaffe. Superman dangling bad guys more than a thousand feet over Metropolis? This is truly alt-Clark, with his own morality code. Thanks for the installment! I can't wait for Nigel's segment! More, more! Diane --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 07:55:28 -0500 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance Part 18 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Phil, good segment, can't wait until he gets back and talks to Lois - and for the capture of Nigel. more soon please merry ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 08:05:54 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance Part 18 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Very good! Poor cop - he has no clue what is going on! More soon please! CM(who would gladly accept new parts on days other than Tues and Fri.) ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 08:43:31 -0500 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: authors MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was wondering if any of you authors who are currently posting to zoom's mirror site could email me their current story posts or post them here on the listserv. I have a weird error and when I go to the mirror site I somehow am getting to cgi/perl script and I don't know how to get out of there. I would appreciate any posts or emails(text preferred) I could get. merry truitt22@flash.net ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 14:08:53 +0000 Reply-To: LOISCLA-GENERAL-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Yael Kfir Subject: Re: NEW: Imbalance Part 18 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed S P O I L E R S P A C E This space for rent! - - - ------------- - Oh, God... - Zod. (Superman II) ------------- >> "Okay, people! You're all still alive! Now, let's get cracking and find out *why!* << Ha! How Perry-like. Great to see how he is always the first to come back to his senses. After all, this is the greatest newspaper in the world we're talking about >> [Four down, one to go... Of course, Nigel is more dangerous than all of the mercs put together -- in the same way that his IQ is greater. ;) That's why he gets a section all to himself -- next time.] << I bet Wendy gets to right this segment - Nigel is her favorite villain. Yael (who had a great time reading parts 13-18 in a row). _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 14:25:09 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carolyn Schnall Subject: Re: Return from LAFF In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" I am very happy to hear that you arrived safely:) Carolyn >Hi all, >Sorry to bother you. ;) But there were just too many people that wanted me >to let them know when I got home. And this list is definitely the easiest >way! :)) I finally made it home about an hour ago. And I did drop off my >films on the way so I will have them developed tonight. Hopefully I will be >able to scan a bunch tomorrow during my lunch break. (The one positive thing >about going back to work ). > >I am not sure how much you have heard about LAFF yet with zoom's board being >hit by that virus... I did post an update last week but I am not sure >anybody got to read it. Since I am one of the last LAFFers to get home, you >should have heard everything by now. ;) If not, I will be on irc in a little >bit, willing to spill it all. :) > >I would like to thank everyone that helped make LAFF such a success. I had a >lot of fun! Pre-LAFF, LAFF, and After-LAFF were great! I enjoyed everything. >:) > >Special thanks go to everyone that helped me out during the whole credit >card fiasco, namely Brenda, Anita, Anne, Kristin, Pat, Mike... I know I am >forgetting a bunch... but I only had two hours of sleep. FoLCs once >again came through. You are the best! > >Natascha (off to take a hower and do laundry) > > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 23:03:53 -0500 Reply-To: truitt22@flash.net Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: timothy truitt Organization: tnt technical services Subject: Re: authors MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Authors, THANK YOU. I am back at the Mirror Site now and I am up. Zoom worked her magic. I appreciate all her help and anyone else who helped her. I appreciate all you authors who were so kind to send me your stories by email because I was unable to access Zoom's Mirror Site. All of you people are wonderful and I appreciate your help and thoughtfulness very much. THANK YOU. merry ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:21:32 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Genevieve Clemens Subject: smallville Air Date MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit "Smallville" will be airing on the WB on Tuesday, October 16, 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Genevieve The World Wide Web has made it possible for anyone to find in five hours what a competent librarian can find in five minutes. :-) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:45:49 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Genevieve Clemens Subject: What makes Lois Lois? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit I wrote: > (And what makes Lois Lois? One thing I can think of is that Lois is > a woman who for some reason has been told she cannot succeed, and is > determined to prove the world wrong. In the 1930's, it was because she > was a woman, in the 1990s (L&C), it was less that and more because being > a reporter was a dog eat dog career. (You're only as good as your > last story, Kent.) I think her character would be very well cast as > a minority, determined to succeed -- as women become more and more > incorporated into the work place it'll be harder and harder to > understand why Lois is as driven as she is.) And Shadow Fax answered: > I know that in the show Lois’s relationship with her father and her attempt > to make it in a man’s world were at least partly responsible for her drive > for success, but can we assume that she wouldn’t be just as competitive > even in the absence of those motivating factors? Are high achievers > *always* motivated only by feelings of inadequacy? Or is it just *women* > who have to feel inadequate in order to feel compelled to succeed? Good point -- it's not fair that women have to feel inadequate in order to be a high achiever, and maybe there are other motivations that would work. But it seems to me that Lois is more than just a high achiever; she seems to be obsessed with success. To some extent she has to be in order to make the whole Superman premise work. Lois routinely throws herself into deadly danger so that Superman can rescue her. Generally, that happens because she is chasing a story, which indicates to me that she has *something* to prove to someone. She's the "unwomanly woman" (I've been re-reading Dorothy Sayer's Gaudy Night) tough-as-nails, caring for no one, and willing to sacrifice everything to see the job well done. It's a very lopsided personality, whether it's held by a man or a woman. Would Lois be Lois if she didn't have this "work-first" ethic. If she didn't put herself in danger all the time? Does Lois have to be a journalist? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Genevieve The World Wide Web has made it possible for anyone to find in five hours what a competent librarian can find in five minutes. :-) ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:49:27 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: New story: Lois and Sam, 1/1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Okay - so for this story, I just pretended that Lois was more like most of us real people instead of Teri and super skinny forever and ever. It's not the world's best story, I know that, and it hasn't been BRd (it's only 2 pages, there can't be *that* much wrong). I know some people will think that CK will react differently - more forcefully - but, oh well. They've been married been married for about 3 1/2 or 4 years and I just kind of skipped the whole baby in the dining room thing from Family Hour. All that said, here it is. Comments are appreciated, just be gentle, especially if you don't like something. Don't mind the constructive criticize, just request that you be nice about it. Thanks! CM ***** Lois was curled up on the couch in the townhouse, tears running down her face. Clark flew in the room after his latest rescue and saw her there. This was nothing new. She was over seven months pregnant after all and tears had been common throughout her pregnancy. Something told him this was more than just running out of ice cream, a sad movie or some other mundane thing that normally wouldn't bother her, but with hormones was monumental. He spun into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and sat next to her, drawing her into his arms and letting her cry for a few minutes before inquiring as to the problem. Lois sniffled and sat up just a little bit. "It's nothing, really." Clark rolled his eyes. "Right, Lois. Please, tell me what it is. Was it your dinner with your dad?" Lois nodded and tried to hold back the tears that threatened again. Finally, she stood - something that was getting more difficult by the day - and started pacing around the room. "You know I love my dad, right?" "Right." Clark didn't sound too sure of himself. Lois had had a difficult relationship with her dad for most of her life, but things had gotten considerably better over the last couple of years. "Well, we were talking during dinner and I made the comment that I didn't know being an incubator could be so exhausting. I mean, I'm not running down leads anymore - and haven't been since I found out I was pregnant - so even though I try to work out or walk several times a week, I don't do as much as I used to, right?" "Right." Clark wasn't sure where this was going, but he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like whatever Sam had said in response. "I mean, I know I've put on some weight in the last few years, but I'm not fat. I wasn't before I got pregnant, anyway. I know that I'm not, just not super thin like I was in high school or like all the superstars have to be these days." Clark sighed. This was a conversation they had had more times than he could count. Lois *had* put on some weight since they had met six years earlier, but no matter what size she was he would always think that she was the most beautiful woman in the world and he told her so. "You're beautiful." "*YOU* think so anyway, but you're biased." "So is your father." "I wish." Clark sighed again. "What did he say?" Lois struggled against the tears that were threatening again. "Well, he made the comment that I was fairly heavy to start with and that just carrying the extra weight was bound to make me more tired, without even being pregnant." It was all Clark could do to not fly off and find Sam Lane and pound some sense into his head. He couldn't believe that he would say that to Lois. Okay, so she had gained weight, and while everything he said was true, it wasn't something Lois needed to hear from her father or didn't already know herself. She had tried to lose the excess weight before, but like most American women had a hard time with it. She had enough self-esteem issues and issues with acceptance by her father that the fact that he said those things were sure to tear her to the core, pregnant or not. Lois took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure. "I wanted to cry, but I didn't. I held myself together and finished dinner, came home and cried then." Clark moved to her side and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, honey. You are *not* fat, you never were." "I have *never* been good enough for him," she mumbled into her husband's chest. "Ever. If I made the honor role, why didn't I get straight A's? If I made an A on a test, what could I have done to get an A+? Why didn't I apply myself more? I could have done it, but I just didn't try hard enough or something. If I won a Kerth, why wasn't it a Pulitzer? And on and on, my whole life." Clark held her close and seethed. Sam couldn't see it, he knew that, but Lois craved his approval and she rarely got it. He had seen it for himself and he had vowed to himself that if he ever caught himself saying some things like Sam had said to Lois to one of his daughters, if he ever had any, he would hurl himself into the sun for being so insensitive. He knew there was nothing he could say to Lois right now that would help her feel better about herself. Eventually, she would stop crying, pull herself together, square her shoulders and try to get on with her life. All he could do was be there for her, let her cry and support her in everything she did. He wanted to go talk to Sam, but knew Lois wouldn't let him. She never wanted her father to see her weaknesses. Her father and his approval, or lack there of, was probably her biggest one, so talking to him was out. He hated it, but there was nothing he could do, at least now. He was just thankful that Sam didn't live in Metropolis anymore and Lois only saw him once or twice a year. He was also thankful that Sam didn't make comments like this every time he saw his daughter, but only once every couple of years. If he made the comments every time, Clark knew he would have said something long ago. Lois pulled back from Clark, wiped her eyes and straightened herself up. "I'm okay, really." "Are you sure?" Clark didn't believe her. "Really. Now tell me about the rescue. How was it?" Clark sighed. She really wasn't okay, but wouldn't talk about it anymore. Not now at least. He had learned the hard way that there was little he could do at this point except watch to make sure that she was okay and be there for her whenever she needed him. Feeling there was nothing more he could do for her at the moment, he began to tell her about the fire. ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 21:16:15 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Diane Trim Subject: Re: New story: Lois and Sam, 1/1 In-Reply-To: <20010811.224934.-172741.12.cmoncado@juno.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii S P O I L E R S P A C E Carol: Very nice and bittersweet. It's refreshing to see Lois struggle with her weight! I like the way you tied it into her self-esteem issues and her desire to have her father's approval. It's ironic, though, that her husband's reassurances aren't enough. I guess they don't make up for her father's words, do they? Now, about criticism (not the Sam Lane variety, but my variety). I am sorry if mine was too harsh about Valley of the Shadow. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to discourage you--I am one of your faithful readers! I am just looking for a ray of hope in that story--something to cling to as our soulmates struggle with their relationship. I have faith that you will WAFF me good and proper, but I'm just impatient for it! Please forgive me--and keep writing! Diane --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 04:39:21 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Rowan Fuller Subject: OT - NBCI closing - Problems for FoLCs sites MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everyone Sorry if this has already been said, but I have been out of circulation for some time. I have just been notified by someone - after enquiring why I was having problems uploading to nbci (formally xoom). It seems that NBCI is closing down its webhosting. This does affect my website greatly (as I am sure it will others) as it is where I store most of the pictures and multimedia files etc. At this stage I don't know what I am going to do. Rest assure my site will remain in some form, however I don't know how long it will take for me to get the multimedia files back up and where. I recommend anyone wanting any of the pictures or multimedia on my site had best get downloading while they still can - if they still can. Sorry to take up your time. Rowan :) -- -- -- LaneKent@aol.com website homepage: http://members.aol.com/lanekent . ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 07:53:53 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: Re: New story: Lois and Sam, 1/1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Diane, please see the boards for my response. As for VotS - there is a WAFF coming up - though it may not be quite as proper as you'd like! Thanks! CM On Sat, 11 Aug 2001 21:16:15 -0700 Diane Trim writes: > S > P > O > I > L > E > R > > S > P > A > C > E > Carol: > Very nice and bittersweet. It's refreshing to see Lois struggle > with her weight! I like the way you tied it into her self-esteem > issues and her desire to have her father's approval. It's ironic, > though, that her husband's reassurances aren't enough. I guess they > don't make up for her father's words, do they? > Now, about criticism (not the Sam Lane variety, but my variety). I > am sorry if mine was too harsh about Valley of the Shadow. Please > forgive me. I didn't mean to discourage you--I am one of your > faithful readers! I am just looking for a ray of hope in that > story--something to cling to as our soulmates struggle with their > relationship. I have faith that you will WAFF me good and proper, > but I'm just impatient for it! > Please forgive me--and keep writing! > Diane > > > > --------------------------------- > Do You Yahoo!? > Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 09:56:27 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Shadow Fax Subject: Re: What makes Lois Lois? On Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:45:49 -0400, Genevieve Clemens wrote: >But it seems to me that Lois is more than just a high achiever; she >seems to be obsessed with success. That's a good distinction, and I agree that Lois is not just a "high achiever," but "obsessed" as well. I agree, too, that Lois seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and acted like she was out to prove something. I'm *not* going to argue that she would *necessarily* have been as obsessed with success if she didn't have something to prove to the world; I'm just going to say that I believe that she *could have been* just as obsessed, and that, *realistically* speaking, Lois would never have made it to the top of her field if she had not been so obsessed. Many (although not all) high achievers *are* obsessed, and they're not all motivated by feelings of inadequacy. Napoleon Hill's classic "Think and Grow Rich" is all about how to turn a goal into an obsession. Think about your goal night and day and eventually every action you take, consciously or subconsciously, will be directed towards achieving that goal. IMO, if Lois is a competitive person by nature, then it will still be possible for her to show the same passion for her work even if she *isn't* motivated by feelings of inferiority. > To some extent she has to be in >order to make the whole Superman premise work. Lois routinely throws >herself into deadly danger so that Superman can rescue her. Generally, >that happens because she is chasing a story, which indicates to me that >she has *something* to prove to someone. >She's the "unwomanly woman" >(I've been re-reading Dorothy Sayer's Gaudy Night) tough-as-nails, >caring for no one, and willing to sacrifice everything to see the job >well done. It's a very lopsided personality, whether it's held by a man >or a woman. I'll have to dust off my Sayers. Lopsided or no, corporations kinda love it . Perry valued those qualities in Lois, and he was certainly obsessed with his work himself. If Lois weren't the best investigative journalist in Metropolis, then who would be? IMO, it would be someone who is just as obsessed as Lois, but not necessarily driven by insecurity. If someone else can be driven without being insecure, then why not Lois? > >Would Lois be Lois if she didn't have this "work-first" ethic. If she >didn't put herself in danger all the time? Does Lois have to be a >journalist? > This is an intriguing question. For me, the answer is that no, Lois would not be Lois if she weren't obsessed with work and throwing herself into danger all the time. I don't *have* to see her as a journalist, however. As long as she is pursuing her goal to the exclusion of almost everything else, she's still Lois to me. Nor do I have to see her as being driven by insecurity. It would still work for me if she were just driven. Period. A highly competitive person determined to succeed in a brutally competitive field; that's my Lois. :) Shadowfax ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 18:30:05 +0200 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Hazel Subject: Re: What makes Lois Lois? In-Reply-To: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Shadowfax, in an intriguing discussion with Genevieve, wrote: >Nor do I have to see her as being driven by insecurity. It would still >work for me if she were just driven. Period. A highly competitive person >determined to succeed in a brutally competitive field; that's my Lois. :) To this, I would add that her field of choice should be one that betters the world. The "usual" Lois Lane exposes corruption as a reporter; then there was Rac's superb Lifelight, where Lois and Clark are both doctors. Shayne is currently writing a story with Lois as an attorney, and I'm going to have to wait and see if I like it. *My* Lois wants the world to be a better place. :) Hazel ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 13:41:46 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: The Author's Mind... updated :) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everyone :) This wee, on the Author's Mind, come discover the creation of one of FoLCdom's most popular Elseworlds. Come take a look into the genesis of Brave New World, and see what was going on in Chris H's mind as she created this wonderful story! -Crys- Manager, The Author's Mind... Come take a look into the Author's Mind at: www.geocities.com/authorsmind/main.html ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 19:06:34 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Shadow Fax Subject: Re: What makes Lois Lois? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 On Sun, 12 Aug 2001 18:30:05 +0200, Hazel wrote: > >To this, I would add that her field of choice should be one that betters >the world. The "usual" Lois Lane exposes corruption as a reporter; then >there was Rac's superb Lifelight, where Lois and Clark are both doctors. >Shayne is currently writing a story with Lois as an attorney, and I'm going= >to have to wait and see if I like it. *My* Lois wants the world to be a >better place. :) > >Hazel I differ from you here, Hazel. It isn=92t *necessary* for me to see fanfiction Lois as having the desire to make the world a better place, because I never saw that desire in her in the original show, at least not in the first season. And for me, the first season established the characterizations. I'm not saying that I wouldn't *prefer* to have a Lois who is fighting to make the world a better place, I'm just saying that that's not who I see on my television, and although the show would have worked *better* if Lois had been so inclined, it still worked. Barely. What I see when I watch the show is a self-centered, emotionally scarred young woman who has built walls around herself in order to avoid dealing with relationships. She is human enough to be attracted to power in men like Lex and Superman, but she is not shallow. She likes to pretend to emotional invulnerability, but she isn=92t as uncaring as she would like the= world to believe. Nor is she without idealism. I think that she fell in love with Superman, not just for his powers, but because he represented everything that she secretly wanted mankind to be, but had given up hope expecting. It was Superman, and then Clark, who restored her faith in the world. So it=92s not important for me that fanfiction Lois initially has that save-= the-world attitude that distinguishes Clark, but what *is* important is that she has the ability to change. :-) I would expect certain other of Lois=92s characteristics to remain constant,= too. A Lois Lane with a better background might not have a chip on her shoulder, but I would still expect her to have her bulldog tenacity, to be quick-tempered and impulsive, courageous, highly competitive, and a thrill- seeker. I would also expect her to have a good heart in spite of any bad experiences she may have had, and to regain some of her lost idealism after contact with Clark/Superman. :-) Shadowfax ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 13:05:10 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: I've been away MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi everybody: I just returned after being away for 17 days. Found a lovely surprise re: NKerths. Thank You to everyone who nominated me. It's nice to know you liked what I wrote. Have been unable to get into Zoom's Boards since I returned. Is there a problem? It's good to be back. :) Jude ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 21:11:18 +0100 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: James Bishop Subject: Re: I've been away MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit http://www.redboots.net/boards is a mirror message board Zoomway set up for the time being. James ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judith Williams" To: Sent: Monday, August 13, 2001 9:05 PM Subject: I've been away > Hi everybody: I just returned after being away for 17 days. Found a lovely > surprise re: NKerths. Thank You to everyone who nominated me. It's nice to > know you liked what I wrote. > > Have been unable to get into Zoom's Boards since I returned. Is there a > problem? > > It's good to be back. :) Jude > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 13:29:21 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Nancy R. Nissen" Subject: OT: Smallville/Tempus Anyone available from Anne Comments: cc: LoisandClarkNAOS@yahoogroups.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Stepping out of lurkdom, I recently acquired two tapes that may be of interest to some of you, and Anne Ciotola has graciously agreed to dub and distribute them. The first is the pilot of the show "Smallville." This is the original pilot with Cynthia Ettinger playing Martha Kent. The second tape is the Director's Cut and dailies from the Lois & Clark episode "Tempus Anyone." Each tape is $6, which includes receipt confirmation. Please e-mail Anne at videos@annesplace.net for ordering information. Also, Anne has made a RM of a scene from Tempus Anyone that was not included in the final cut and has posted it at: http://www.nfanfic.net/realvideo/unairedbeginningTA.rm Enjoy! Nancy Nissen ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 22:48:51 +0000 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Bethy Em Subject: NEW: Alien Gift (7/?) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Thanks to Carol and Nic for their comments. Glad you liked it. :) And I want to say I'm really sorry about being so late with this installment. I had dance camp last week, which really drained me, and then had very limited computer time. That whole Red Worm snafu sure didn't help much, either... Anyway, on with the story. Comments welcome publicly or at bethyem@yahoo.com. Previously: "We weren't sure if you'd be able to tell if we...I was the same person, so we thought it best to keep up the charade. Nobody except Lois, and now you, knows that I'm Superman. And we weren't sure how to explain it to you, yet. You do understand that this has to be kept a secret?" He tried to look stern, but knew she'd see right through him. However, some of his deep-rooted fears must have come through, because she nodded seriously. "You can't ever call me Daddy when I'm in this suit, even when we're alone. It would be too easy to get into the habit and then slip up in public. Okay?" "Okay. I promise." "Good. Now, we've been up here long enough, I think. What do you say we head home and have some ice cream?" No answer was necessary. Her {YES!} reverberated in his head as he laughed and began their descent. * * * PART 7 "Be careful with that one!" Lois called across the room to Clark as he carried in a large cardboard box. "It's got the china in it." "We have china?" "Yes, you goof, we have china. It was a belated wedding present from my folks." "Okey-dokey. Where do you want it?" "Kitchen might be nice. Considering that's where we'd actually *use* it." "Are you sure?" he teased. "I thought we might like to try keeping it in the linen closet." "Just take it into the kitchen, Clark." Lois was tired, which made her snappy, but she was happy, too. After a week of searching, they had finally found the perfect house. Well, it needed a little fixing up, but mostly on the inside -- stuff Clark could do privately, without arousing suspicion. Like painting the ceilings. She just couldn't understand how somebody could do a bad job painting a ceiling, but they did. Her theory was they did it while drunk; the paint lines went in haphazard strokes, leaving large patches in different shades. Did they really think that because they were painting white on white the new coat wouldn't show? Some people would forever baffle her. But the best part was that it already had a built-in heated pool, and a huge jacuzzi-whirlpool bathtub in the master bedroom. Perfect for Elsha. They had packed up the apartment themselves, but ended up hiring movers to transport all their junk across town. Couldn't have people getting suspicious of Clark before they'd even fully moved in. In the other universe, they could have gotten Jimmy or Perry to help, but here she didn't have the same relationship with Jimmy -- as James Olsen, really rich guy and owner of the Planet, he wasn't quite the slightly annoying but always helpful gofer that she could rope into something like this. And Perry was so busy as Mayor, she couldn't possibly ask him. "Is that the last box, Clark?" she asked, absently rubbing the back of her neck. Elsha had gone to bed hours ago, but she had really wanted to get unpacked before retiring so that she could wake up to 'home' in the morning, instead of a jumbled mess of a house. "Yup, I'll have it unpacked in a jiff. Why don't you head on up to bed?" She slowly climbed the stairs to the master bedroom, reveling in the joy of having this new house. It was neither Clark's nor hers. It was *theirs.* Elsha's too. It was theirs, belonging to the Lane family. How she loved that word. Family. It had such wonderful connotations to it, but in the end it was based on how the individuals within came together to create the whole. And she knew that they could create a wonderful whole. Just look at the past two weeks! She never would have guessed that both she and Clark would have bonded to Elsha so quickly. Clark she could understand. He had a naturally loving soul, always seeing the other side, always putting the other person ahead of himself. She had always known he would make a wonderful father. Herself, on the other hand, had been a surprise. After the chaotic youth she'd had, and the miserable relationships with her parents, she swore that if she ever had a family, it wouldn't turn out that way. But inwardly, she doubted her ability to prevent it, so she just squelched any desires to have a family. Until Clark. Maybe it was Clark that brought out these mothering instincts in her. Or maybe they had been there all along, just waiting for the right child to bring them out. Now, if she had given birth, she might find this phenomenon easier to understand -- then she would have a natural link to the child. But she'd never been able to stand other people's children, and to adopt a highly developed, individual seven-year-old, and be able to love her so completely. It baffled her. But it was a good bafflement, and right now she wasn't going to question it. Elsha was there, she was theirs, and Lois loved her. When Lois had finished getting ready, she walked into the bedroom to find Clark lounging on the bed, ready to sleep. "You know, it's not fair. I'm the woman, the one who needs time to get ready, and yet you, the man, a gender that never needs more than five minutes in the bathroom anyway, are the one with superspeed." She sighed and shook her head. "Mother Nature sure had her priorities skewed when she set up this one." She settled in beside him and let him rub her shoulders. "Oh, that feels good." They stayed there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, and Lois drowsed under Clark's ministrations until his voice broke into her thoughts. "We still have to do something about making Elsha ours in the eyes of the law. Have you thought any more on how to go about doing that?" "Actually, yes. I thought I'd go see Perry on my lunch break tomorrow and see if he could pull any strings. Since we already have her, and she has an emotional attachment to us, I think he has enough weight to forestall any legal objections. And if all else fails, I can see if James has any tricks up his sleeve. If nothing else, one of them might know a good lawyer." "Good idea. Have you thought about school?" "A little, but I haven't come to any conclusions yet. You?" "Ditto." She rolled on her side and gave him a kiss. "Well, we've got the house unpacked, and plans for the adoption, so I think we can put that one off for a little while. Plus, it's almost the end of the school year. I think we could very easily postpone entering her until next year, anyway. Argue that she needs a little time to adjust to a new family, and by then it'd be so close to the end of the year as to be almost pointless." "Okay. I like that. Now, how about we focus a little more on improving your kissing skills? That last one was *way* too short to even come close to a passing grade." "Oh, that's what you think, is it? Well, we'll just have to see what I can come up with when given enough incentive." "Umm," he murmured, trailing kisses along her neck and pulling her close to him. "Is this incentive enough?" "Keep going, farmboy, and you might just have a future in this business." * * * "So, you see Perry, aside from the fact that we are attached to her, she's formed an emotional attachment to us. And, when you factor in her amnesia, we are the only familiar link she has at all," Lois finished. She had come to visit Perry as soon as she could escape from the Planet. Funny how recently it had become less of an obsession and more just a job. Not that she didn't love it -- she did. But somehow now it was easier to leave work *at* work when necessary. Perry leaning back in his swivel chair and regarded Lois intently. She stared right back, refusing to squirm. There had been a day when she could get away with almost anything with him, but that had been a long time ago. They had both grown, changed, and matured in the intervening years. "Are you sure this is the whole story, honey? 'Cause I'm getting the feeling you're holding something back here. I'm not your editor anymore, I'm not gonna pull you off a story or anything." She shook her head stubbornly. "That's it, Perry." He just stared, silent and patient. After a few minutes of such scrutiny, she broke. "Fine, Perry, you win. Yes, there is more. The thing is, it's kinda a secret, and it's not just my secret, so I don't feel right about spilling the beans with out Elsha and Clark's permission." "Aw, honey, come on. Don't try to pull that one with me. You know Clark trusts me, and you know you can. Y'all told me the real story about your mysterious return -- both of them. And I do know how to keep a secret. I didn't become editor of the Planet, or Mayor of this city because I shouted rumours from roof-tops." "Fine. Okay. But if Clark gets mad, I'm blaming you." He just looked at her. Who was she kidding? Like Clark was going to get mad. "Okay, well, we didn't just find her dumped in a parking lot. We actually saw her get dumped. From a spaceship." She looked to see what impact this had on him, but Perry just nodded, unfazed. "We got Superman to bring him to Dr. Klein, and he determined that she's definitely an alien, and from a lower-gravity planet. If she is left on Earth, without any compensations, for too long, the gravity will kill her, by overtaxing her heart. Plus, she has a lighter, um, skelestructure, I think they called it, and so is going to be more susceptible to broken bones and other injuries." "Well, now, honey, that kinda changes things, doesn't it? If someone else gets custody, you will have to explain her alien origins, which will most likely earn you a stay in a looneybin, and result in pain and suffering for Elsha." "Yeah. But you believe me, right?" "'Course I do. Now, you just leave things to me. I know a great lawyer, very ethical, very good, who can probably win this one for you without many problems. And I'm sure you will be granted custody until a final decision is made. No sense uprooting her if it's not necessary." Lois sighed with relief. She knew she could count on Perry to help, but it was so much more comforting to actually hear the words. "Thanks, Perry, we really appreciate it." "No problem, honey. You stay in touch, y'hear?" "Of course, Perry. And if there's anything we can ever do for you, don't hesitate to ask." "Now that you mention it, my niece is a really big fan of Clark's books. . ." "I'll get her a signed copy of the whole set, okay?" "Wonderful. Now you head off to work. Don't want to keep you from catching some bad guys and saving the world, blah, blah, blah." He grinned to show he was kidding, and she grinned right back at him. "You better come back to us at the Planet when your term is over, you hear me, Perry? We miss you." A pause, then, "I miss you." "I know, darlin'. I feel the same way. Now skeedaddle! We've both got work to do." She exited quickly, but glanced back to see him staring off into space, a wistful expression on his face. She couldn't wait 'till he could return to the Planet. Not only did the Planet need him, but he needed the Planet. They worked best as a team. She hurried down the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. Besides, with all the recent lounging in Smallville and chaos of moving, she hadn't had much time to exercise. *Better hit the gym soon, girl, or you won't be fitting in these pants much longer.* Despite her dire mental prediction, it was a happy Lois that exited the building. * * * The nest few days passed swiftly. Lois easily slipped back into her routine at the Planet, almost immediately getting a lead on a possible conspiracy involving FlyTech, one of the most prominent airline suppliers. She was eager to sink her teeth into a meaty expose, but still found it easy to come home each evening. She even started coming home for lunches, too. Perry's lawyer friend, a woman named Constance Hunter, got back to them quickly and, after hearing their story, thought she could have Elsha legally belonging to them in the space of a few weeks. The biggest factor wasn't overcoming any opposition -- she didn't feel that any social service officials would put up a fight. After all, if Lois and Clark didn't keep Elsha, she would become yet another 'unwanted' child with which they had to deal. They might not have wanted to place a child in the Lane home before, but Constance agreed with Lois that Ms. Bailey’s reasoning was outlandish and could probably be overruled. No, the main problem was the simple, yet time-consuming process of plowing through red tape. Bernie had returned from his conference and made great strides in the home gravity unit. He estimated that, assuming he was able to get all his parts easily (and Superman quickly volunteered his assistance in that matter), he could have it ready in another week. In the meantime, Elsha and Clark loved their 'Daddy-daughter' times together. Life was calm, peaceful, and normal, until... A blood-curdling scream pierced the night, jolting Lois and Clark from a sound sleep. Clark woke first, by the space of a split-second, because he first heard the scream in his head. Despite his horror and fear at the sound, he felt a slight desire to say 'I told you so.' Lois, who claimed to have no mothering instincts whatsoever, had awoken from a sound sleep and immediately jumped up and headed for Elsha's room, intent on protecting her child from whatever was causing that heart-wrenching scream. He glanced through the floor into Elsha's room and determined that no one was there with her, and her vital signs, aside from a rapid heartbeat signifying terror, seemed stable. Assured of her immediate physical safety, at least, he followed Lois a bit more slowly. After all the bonding time he'd had with Elsha, it was probably time to give Lois a turn. He walked in to hear Lois making soft shushing sounds, and see her sitting on the edge of Elsha's bed, rubbing her hair. The child's breathing had slowed somewhat, and her sobs grew quieter as Lois continued murmuring. "There you go. Just breathe. I'm here, everything's going to be fine. Don't try to talk, just take it easy." And on and on she went. Clark just watched with a feeling of contentment. They knew Elsha would probably have some psychological problems, especially as her memory returned, but he felt confident they could work through those. In the meantime, he was determined to enjoy this precious sight. His wife and his daughter. His family. Family. It was something he'd been denied the pleasure of having for most of his life, but then recently he had been blessed with a wife, and a daughter. He couldn't even begin to describe the joy and feelings of privilege that came with them. All his life he had been searching, searching for that something, or someone, to fill that hole in his soul. And here, in this bedroom, sat the two women, one grown, one a child, one human, one alien, who served to fill that gap. He came in to sit on the bed behind Lois and put his arms around the both of them, drawing the three together into a tight embrace. Lois glanced up at him, a bit surprised, but then reciprocated. By now, Elsha's tears had subsided, and she was content to rest in their embrace. He sat there, gently rocking them, until he felt Elsha's mind slow down into the gentle hum that remained when she slept. "Shh." He put his finger on his lips and then pointed to the sleeping child. Lois nodded, and he settled Elsha back down in her bed, tucking her in after he stood up. Taking Lois's hand, they returned to their own room to sleep. * * * TBC... _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 19:21:35 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Re: NEW: Alien Gift (7/?) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Bethy, This continues to be good, but I'm going crazy waiting for the other shoe to drop Things are going *way* too smoothly... Oh, and I had a moment of panic when Perry said he could recommend a good lawyer :D After the abysmal performance in TPvLL, I so do *not* trust his judgement! Pam Jernigan / ChiefPam / jernigan@bellsouth.net http://www.geocities.com/~chiefpam http://personal.rdu.bellsouth.net/~jernigan/ ~~God answers knee-mail~~ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 20:50:25 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Re: I've been away MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks for the tip, James. :) Jude ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Bishop" To: Sent: Monday, August 13, 2001 1:11 PM Subject: Re: I've been away > http://www.redboots.net/boards is a mirror message board Zoomway set up for > the time being. > > James > > ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 06:33:44 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Questions for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I have a couple of questions for a fanfic that I'm working on. First - the microwave weapon that kills all 'organic life' yet leaves structures intact. What is its proper name, and what would it look like? How large would it be? What would be a major component and what would that look like? Second - is there a university either in the UK or the US that is known for giving out diplomas based on how much wealth a person has rather than how smart they are? Third - what US government agency would be the one to investigate illegal arms shipments? Or, would it have been one that was referred to on the show, like the NIA? Thanks in advance! Irene keeping her fingers crossed that someone actually might know these answers! ===== sirenegold@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:33:56 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Carol L Moncado Subject: Re: NEW: Alien Gift (7/?) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Yeah! Loved it! Wonder what woke Elsha up? Just a bad dream? Glad Perry can help and wasn't surprised at their choice of lawyer! More soon please! (Dance camps can wait - some things in life are more important!*BG*) CM ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 11:59:42 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Ann E. McBride" Subject: Re: Questions for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/14/01 9:34:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, sirenegold@YAHOO.COM writes: > First - the microwave weapon that kills all 'organic > life' yet leaves structures intact. What is its > proper name, and what would it look like? How large > would it be? What would be a major component and what > would that look like? This weapon was called the "neutron bomb." I have no clue what it would look like or how big it was supposed to be. > Second - is there a university either in the UK or the > US that is known for giving out diplomas based on how > much wealth a person has rather than how smart they > I don't really think that there are any universities in the US that are known for giving out diplomas based on weath, but there are several that are known for being incredibly easy to get into. Eastern Kentucky University, Youngstown State in Ohio, and University of Rio Grande in Ohio (pronounce rye-oh grand) are known for accepting virtually anyone with a high school diploma and a pulse. > Third - what US government agency would be the one to > investigate illegal arms shipments? Or, would it have > been one that was referred to on the show, like the > The ATF would be investigating arms shipments. ( Alcohol, tobacco and firearms ) -- the agency that Dean Cain's character worked for in Militia. The CIA might get involved if there was stuff happening outside the US. Technically, the CIA can't operate inside the US. The FBI could be involved as well. Hope this helps. Ann ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 10:29:40 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Judith Williams Subject: Re: Questions for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Irene: Well, I have two addresses for you. I hope my first message got through. I failed to respond to the other parts of your question so here goes. The NIA is a govt. agency charged with gathering info about national defense so they do indeed focus on weapons being developed by other countries and, far as I know, they can also operate domestically. As far as the 'purchased' university degrees, almost all universities give honorary degrees, at one time or another, to people who have donated large amounts of money to them. There are also 'on line' institutions that will give you suspect degrees or licenses for a fee, but I don't think that's what you have in mind. Hope this helps. Gotta go do my errands. :) Jude ----- Original Message ----- From: "Irene D." To: Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2001 6:33 AM Subject: Questions for fanfic > I have a couple of questions for a fanfic that I'm > working on. > > First - the microwave weapon that kills all 'organic > life' yet leaves structures intact. What is its > proper name, and what would it look like? How large > would it be? What would be a major component and what > would that look like? > > Second - is there a university either in the UK or the > US that is known for giving out diplomas based on how > much wealth a person has rather than how smart they > are? > > Third - what US government agency would be the one to > investigate illegal arms shipments? Or, would it have > been one that was referred to on the show, like the > NIA? > > Thanks in advance! > > Irene > keeping her fingers crossed that someone actually > might know these answers! > > ===== > sirenegold@yahoo.com > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger > http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 13:41:32 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Crystal Wimmer Subject: FF: A Little Help, part 7 of 8 Comments: To: lcnfanfic@yahoogroups.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit My apologies that this took so long... winding down a story is always harder than building it up. Only one more chapter to go :) Chapter 7 It wasn't as easy as he had hoped. Clark knew that Lois was making every effort, but the second medication had been worse than the first. Not only had it caused the same side effects, but it caused her to be so jumpy that she was a nervous wreck. By the time they finally gave up hope and went back to the physician, Lois had been fighting the new medication for seven weeks and Clark was considering his own form of insanity. Those at the Planet seemed to be equally cautious of his wife, and even Ralph had stopped coming by her desk. The next month had been spent on Welbutrin. Clark had been both relieved and happy when his wife's libido returned to normal, but he hadn't been prepared for the return of her mood swings and erratic crying jags. Four weeks into that medication - because they'd learned that waiting served no purpose - they returned to Dr. Evans for an increased dosage. Gradually, her moods stabilized once more, and Clark was able to breathe again. Medication wasn't an exact science, and every body chemistry was different. This was what the doctor told him, but it didn't make living with Lois any easier. She became almost frantic about her medication - fearful that if she missed a dose it would start all over again. Clark tried to be understanding, but he got tired of making flights to the house to retrieve her pill bottle. He got tired of being patient. He got tired of catering to an illness that neither of them had asked for, and neither of them wanted. For the most part, he just got tired. The counseling sessions weren't much more beneficial. Yes, her mother was an alcoholic. Yes, her sister was flighty, perhaps to the point of manic depression - now called bipolar disorder. Yes, her father was a workaholic. Yes, she had a family history of mental instability in one form or another. Clark understood all the reasons behind the illness, but what he wanted to know was how to fix it. This wasn't the woman he had married, and while he'd promised to love her in sickness and in health, he was damn tired of the sickness. She'd been pulling him in every direction for more than six months, and he was exhausted. For her part, Lois was doing everything possible to get better. She never missed a pill - even when he had to fetch it for her - she ate every meal whether she was hungry or not, and she never missed a therapy session. The problem was, he couldn't do it for her. He wanted desperately to fix the problem, and there was nothing that even a Kryptonian could do to improve the situation. His power meant nothing in the face of her difficulties, and even super-patience wasn't enough to put up with tiny bits of progress she was making. He attended every other session with her. Part of the reason was so that he could understand what was going on, and the rest was so that he could provide her with what little support there was. Most of the time his presence seemed pointless, as he only sat in the corner and listened rather than contributing. Lois was now a little more confident in answering for herself, so she looked to him less and less for confirmation. He wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. While it was a sign that her condition was improving, it also made him feel even more useless than he already had. They could only give the counselor an edited version of Lois' life. They couldn't mention his second job, or the pressures that entailed. They could discuss the helplessness of their infertility, but they couldn't give the reason for it. They could discuss her being alone a great number of evenings, but they couldn't go into details about the stress she faced during those times. Clark eventually began to feel that the secretive nature of their lives might be the true cause of her depression, and that didn't help his mood at all. So, they endured. Lois took her pills and talked to her doctor. Clark kept his rescues to absolute emergencies, and to hell with writing decent stories or helping the world. He couldn't even help his wife, so saving the Earth seemed to be more than he should worry about. Jimmy kept his distance and Perry expressed continued concern. And Clark finally reached a point where he didn't know what to do anymore. He couldn't take it out on Lois - she was unstable enough - but he couldn't hold it in either. The result of all the pressure was a flight to Smallville. When he arrived, his mother had an apple pie and a glass of buttermilk waiting on the table, and his father had plenty of work that he needed help with. The work didn't surprise Clark much, because there was always work to be done on the farm. The buttermilk did. "How did you know?" he asked softly. Martha Kent just smiled, and then filled the glass once more. "Mom's know," she finally admitted. "It's part of the job." Clark smiled at that, and then the smile slipped. There were some things that even his mother's buttermilk couldn't fix. "I don't know what to do," he admitted. "About Lois?" she asked gently, taking the seat next to him and stealing his fork. "Or about you?" Clark watched as his mother nibbled a couple of bites of his pie and then handed the fork back. "Both," he admitted. "I want to help her, but half the time I think I'm just making it worse." "Because of Superman?" she asked. "Partly. The rest is me." Martha looked at him a moment, considering. "I don't understand." "It seems like everything that's a problem in her life comes right back to me," he said softly. "We can't have kids because of me. She's alone a lot, because of me. She deals with all kinds of stressful situations, and mostly that's because of me. She has to lie to everyone just to protect my secrets." He looked at his mother and sighed. "I feel like I did this to her." "Clark," she said softly. "Where do you think she'd be today without you?" "I haven't thought about it," he admitted. "I'm too busy looking at what her life is because of me." "I'll tell you," Martha said firmly. "She'd be alone. She'd be either dead, or she'd be lonely and miserable. You know what her life was before you met her - how unsafe and uncertain it was. Do you think she would have survived that for very much longer?" Clark shrugged. He hadn't considered it at all. At the very least, he'd tried not to. "She was always in dangerous situations," his mother continued. "She didn't worry about dying because the story was all she had to live for. She didn't have anyone to talk to, anyone to trust, or anyone to love. And if it hadn't been for you, I don't think anyone would have bothered battering down her defenses to get in. Anyone less that what you are couldn't have managed it." "Mom, I appreciate that, but I'm not as strong as you think I am." "You're stronger than you think," she said with a wry smile. "Just the fact that you came home instead of flying off proves that. You want to get through this, so you will. It's that simple." "I'm glad you think so," he said. "Lois loves you," Martha said carefully. "And yes, right now she needs you. You've been putting up with a really bad situation for over six months, and you have a right to be tired." She reached out and took his hands in hers, then waited until he met her eyes. "But Honey, she put up with a bad situation - with your lying to her - for two years. She managed to get through it, and then she forgave you. It wasn't easy, but love can accomplish miracles when you let it." Love could accomplish miracles. Clark knew that. He'd always known it. From the time an older couple had taken a baby with no past and made him their own, he'd felt the power of what love could do. Suddenly, instead of feeling weak he felt incredibly guilty. Here he was, worried about how he was handling her illness, when Lois was doing everything in her power just to stay sane. "How did you get so smart?" he asked softly. "I see both sides," she admitted. "I've been on Lois' end of the situation. Oh, we didn't call it depression back then; I think they called it melancholy. They certainly didn't do anything about it. Anyway, it's what happens when you want something so badly and can't have it. Your father and I tried for years to have a baby, and after awhile it started to wear on both of us. If it hadn't been for your father's support, I don't know what I would have done. I felt so worthless because I couldn't give him a son, and there were times I really thought he'd be better off without me." "I didn't know it was that bad," Clark admitted. "It could have been. But your father never gave up. Oh, we both gave up on children; that was inevitable. But he never gave up on me. He told me every day how important I was to him, and how much he loved me. He only let me get so far down, because when I started to get too low he pulled me back up. Kind of like Lois has done for you." Clark didn't say anything, but the question was in his expression. "How long do you think you could see death and destruction before you gave up?" she asked gently. "How long do you think you could clear disasters, see the lowest side of people, and still be able to go back out there and do it all over again. After awhile, there just wouldn't be any reason to keep it up, would there?" "But there's Lois," he realized. "And you and Dad of course..." "But Lois is what gives you your strength," Martha said with a smile. "Right now she just needs some of that understanding and love back. I know you've been doing that, but you don't get to stop just because you're tired." "Till death do us part," he recited. "Exactly," she agreed, her smile growing. "And you two have a lot of years before that will be an issue." "Mom?" "What, Honey?" "Did you ever blame Dad," he asked carefully. "Because you couldn't have children, I mean." Martha thought a moment, and then shook her head. "I blamed myself, mostly," she told him. "And I blamed him some as well. Back then we didn't have infertility testing or anything, so we never knew why. After we adjusted to it, we realized it didn't matter. We couldn't have them because it wasn't meant to be, and it was no one's fault. It was just us." "But this is because of me," he added. "Most of her stress is because of me." "No," Martha corrected. "It's because of circumstance. If it weren't you, it would be knocking herself out for a story, or not having anyone to love. If the predisposition for depression is there, it's going to happen regardless of what life hands you. Think about it - she became depressed even though she loves her job, adores her husband, and has a really interesting and exciting life. She has far more going for her than against." Clark smiled softly at that. "So it's really not my fault?" "It's your fault that you're pouting," Martha said firmly. "You need to chose whether you want to help her get better, or just leave her out there on her own. She can't manage this for the both of you." Clark glanced over his mother's shoulder at the clock on the kitchen wall. "I'd better go get that fence fixed," he said absently. "I want to have time to pick up some Chinese food on the way home." "Taiwan isn't on the way," Martha said with a smile. "But it is the best." "Yeah, it is," Clark agreed. "Even if the fortune cookies frustrate Lois." "She'll handle it," Martha said simply. "She has you to read them to her." * * * Dinner was a little late, regardless of Clark's rushing. He had wound up saving a couple of stranded boaters who had lost their craft, and that had taken time. Then he'd had to go back and pick up another dinner, because he'd ditched the first in the ocean. There was no help for it. He couldn't leave two people floating on the pacific in an emergency craft, and he certainly couldn't ask them to hold his dinner while he flew them to shore. Sometimes being able to help wasn't convenient. Lois wasn't waiting, but had fixed herself a bowl of cereal and was curled up on the couch. When he saw her sitting there, his hearing easily catching the hitch in her breathing, he knew that he was in for it. He was late. He hadn't told her where he was going. She had every right to be upset. The question then became whether she would react with anger or tears. As he rounded the edge of the couch, he got his answer. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was running, and salty trails were evident on her cheeks regardless of the pile of used Kleenex sitting beside her. Credits were rolling on the television screen. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart..." he began. "That's okay," she said with a watery sniffle. He sighed. "I didn't mean to worry you," he started again. "You didn't," she assured him. "I just wanted to watch a good movie. It's been a while." Clark looked at her a moment longer, confusion on his face. She actually didn't seem upset, but her face told another story. She wasn't sobbing, wasn't screaming, but clearly something had upset her. "Then what's wrong, Honey?" he asked gently. She gave him the watery grin again. "I'm fine," she said once more. "Really." Still floundering somewhere out in left field, he wandered over to the television and picked up the box to the video. With concern he read the title, and then burst out laughing. "Love Story?" "It's a classic," she said with another sniffle. Clark laughed long and hard, grateful to do so. It had been too long since something had struck him as hysterical, since something had actually seemed normal and silly and not a big deal. "You know I love you?" he asked softly, wiping away a couple of tears of his own. "Yeah," she told him, her smile more sure than he had been of anything in months. "I know you do." He looked at her for a moment, just enjoying her, and then indicated the table where he'd left his dinner offering. "I picked up Chinese," he suggested. "Sounds good," she told him. "We can eat, and you can tell me how your folks are." Clark glanced over at his wife again, startled. "How did you know?" he asked, turning from his task of reaching for the plates. "I just know," she said with a sly grin. "Wives are almost as bad as mothers." Clark laughed at that as well, thinking he would never understand the workings of the female mind, and deciding that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 14:08:58 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Questions for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 08/14/2001 9:34:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, sirenegold@YAHOO.COM writes: << I have a couple of questions for a fanfic that I'm working on. >> Oh, that's VERY good news!!! I was wondering where you were. <> never heard of such a thing, but maybe either young folcs of uni age or parents with kids of that age would know better. <> Well, it might be the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, but you might be consistent with the show and keep it the NIA. --Laurie (overjoyed that Irene is writing a new story!) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 14:23:21 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: FF: A Little Help, part 7 of 8 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 08/14/2001 1:42:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, JCWimmer@AOL.COM writes: << Only one more chapter to go :) >> oh good. I've been wanted to read a new fic. :) --Laurie (who mostly waits till she gets all the parts now) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 11:43:30 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: Questions for fanfic In-Reply-To: <81.ea3368f.28aaa4ee@aol.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Thank you to Ann, Judith and Laurie for responding to my questions. I think I have enough information to proceed - or at least the information I was given was enough to jumpstart my brain. I just *love* how helpful FoLCs can be! Yes, Laurie, I've started a new fanfic. It's early days, though, as I've been having to figure out a convoluted A-plot. Once I get that sorted out, I'll send you what I have to beta-read. If you want to, that is. ;) Thanks again, everyone. Irene ===== sirenegold@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 17:17:47 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: No Name Available Subject: Re: Questions for fanfic MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 8/14/01 2:43:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sirenegold@YAHOO.COM writes: > Once I get that sorted out, I'll > send you what I have to beta-read. If you want to, > that is. ;) > WHat kind of question is that? As if I'd ever turn down my favorite author! And yes, I don't mind that EVERYONE reads this. --Laurie (Irene's #1 fan) ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 15:42:42 -0700 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "Irene D." Subject: Re: Questions for fanfic In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii --- No Name Available wrote: > In a message dated 8/14/01 2:43:57 PM Eastern > Daylight Time, > sirenegold@YAHOO.COM writes: > > > > Once I get that sorted out, I'll > > send you what I have to beta-read. If you want > to, > > that is. ;) > > > > WHat kind of question is that? As if I'd ever turn > down my favorite author! > And yes, I don't mind that EVERYONE reads this. > > --Laurie (Irene's #1 fan) LOL! Laurie, you keep making me blush! I'll send you some pages in (hopefully) a few days. Irene ===== sirenegold@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/